Opposition slams PM over ‘sellout’ to Pakistan

Prime minister Manmohan Singh flew back home on Friday to a raging controversy over what is being dubbed in India as a sellout to Pakistan — the joint statement issued after his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Speculation is rife that Singh gave in to pressure from the United States, which has made no bones of its desire for India and Pakistan to engage, as Washington is focused on Obama's so-called AfPak policy.

Singh was in Parliament hours after he arrived from his foreign trip and had to face the opposition's wrath. He had a tough time trying to convince the House that India has not diluted its position. The Bharatiya Janata Party walked out after Singh read out his statement.

No one has been able to understand what led to the dramatic concession to Pakistan by proclaiming in the joint statement that action on terror will be delinked from the composite dialogue. Western diplomats in the capital are as puzzled by the shift in India's stand. More so as Singh proceeded immediately after signing the joint statement to contradict it, by proclaiming at a news conference in Egypt that there will be no dialogue with Pakistan unless action is taken against those responsible for last November's attack on Mumbai.

In Parliament, Singh said, "I conveyed to prime minister Gilani that sustained, effective, and credible action needs to be taken not only to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, but also to shut down operations of terrorist groups so as to prevent future attacks."

In the Rajya Sabha, Singh contended that India's stand remained what he had stated in the verbal interaction with Gilani, and not what was written in the joint declaration the two signed.

In diplomatic terms, what appears in a joint statement is cast in stone and remains on record, superseding what is said during talks between two leaders. Apart from the delinking, the mention of Balochistan is a major concession to Pakistan and will help Islamabad to counter India whenever Pakistan's involvement in Kashmir is raised.

Singh said, "The starting point of meaningful dialogue with Pakistan is a fulfilment of their commitment, in letter and spirit, not to allow their territory to be used in any manner for terrorist activities against India."

Responding to a clarification on the dilution of India's stand sought by leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Singh said, "It does not mean dilution of our stand. It only strengthens our position... Pakistan should not wait for resumption of dialogue but should go ahead and act against terrorism regardless of it."

Jaitley had said that what Singh was asserting was "inconsistent with the joint statement". Quoting the statement, Jaitley said that while Singh was saying India had not diluted its stand, "the joint statement says action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process, and therefore cannot await other developments. It was agreed that the two countries will share real-time, credible, and actionable information on future terrorist threats."