China decides not to divert Brahmaputra; India relieved

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Friday welcomed China's decision not to divert the Brahmaputra River, which had been a long-standing row between the two neighbours. He was speaking to media persons here after meeting the visiting President of Myanmar.

China has ruled out any move to divert water from its side of the Brahmaputra River, citing "possible impact on state-to-state relations". Hailing the decision, Krishna asserted that the Chinese clarification on the simmering dispute had come as a relief for the Indian Government.

"We are very pleased with the purported decision of the Chinese Government that they will not divert the Brahmaputra River. Well, we have taken it up at the bilateral level with China, and I am very happy that things are moving in the most positive direction," Krishna told mediapersons.

India has been wary of Chinese hydropower projects on its side of the river. India's concerns increased as China formally started construction of the Zangmu hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra in November last year.

Krishna also clarified India's stand on extremism, saying the issue would continue to be a recurring theme in the country's diplomatic engagements with other nations. "Terror certainly is an issue where we are confronted at every step. Terror will continue to dominate our discourses in multilateral forums. We will take it up," he said.

Krishna's comments comes a day after a possible terror attack plotted by Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Babbar Khalsa was foiled with police seizing over five kg explosives from a car parked outside the Ambala Cantt Railway Station. According to Delhi Police, the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militant oufit had joined hands to plot a terror strike in the national capital ahead of Diwali.

Reflecting on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's aide Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi Memon's arrest, Krishna stressed that India was yet to decide on his extradition. "I think the foreign office is studying the situation and then we will take a view on it," said Krishna. 61-year-old Iqbal Mirchi was arrested in London on Tuesday for a local offence. Mirchi is wanted by the Indian police in connection to cases related to drug peddling and serial blasts in Mumbai city in 1993.