Indo-Pak joint statement major diplomatic surrender: Advani

Accusing Dr Manmohan Singh of being the first Indian PM to have squandered Indias diplomatic advantage over Pakistan...

Accusing Dr Manmohan Singh of being the first Indian PM to have squandered Indias diplomatic advantage over Pakistan and terming the recent Indo-Pak joint statement a major diplomatic surrender on Indias part,BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday demanded immediate suspension of official talks with Islamabad,including secretary-level talks,until India gets credible proof that Pakistan has taken necessary action against the masterminds of the terror attack on Mumbai.

Seeking to recapture the nationalist plank on national security,Advani accused the Prime Minister of 8220;compromising the national consensus on Indias war on terror and said that July 16 India-Pakistan joint statement,by de-linking terror from the composite dialogue process,had been a big retreat by the government on its stated position on talks with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan,including all outstanding issues. Whatever Dr Singh may have said subsequently by way of clarification,he has agreed,in black and white,that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan,including all outstanding issues such as Kashmir. Indeed,this is what constitutes the so-called composite dialogue and that such dialogue will not be linked to 8216;action on terrorism, said Advani,speaking at the launch of the Marathi edition of his memoirs,My Country My Life in Pune.

Advani also castigated the government for allowing Pakistan to mention Baluchistan in a formal India-Pakistan statement. For the first time in the history of Indias diplomatic engagement with Pakistan,the Indian side has allowed Pakistan to mention Baluchistan in a formal India-Pakistan statement,and that too in such a way that India is made to look like the sponsor of terrorism in Baluchistan and also in other areas, said Advani,adding the perpetrator of terror Pakistan had been allowed to project itself as a victim of India-sponsored terror.

Advani demanded that India seek the extradition of Dawood Ibrahim and all those involved in cross-border terrorist activities in India who have been given shelter in Pakistan.