Diplomacy has prevailed, asserts Pranab

India to continue to demand dismantling of the terror infrastructure in Pakistan in a credible manner .External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee speaking in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: While highlighting Pakistan’s recent admission that its soil was used in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, India on Wednesday said diplomacy had “prevailed” and told Islamabad that it would continue to demand dismantling of the terror infrastructure in a “verifiable and credible” manner.

“Diplomacy has not failed. Diplomacy has prevailed,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha, replying to the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address. The motion was approved by both Houses after rejecting the amendments moved by the Left and the BJP.

Stressing that India would continue to press for punishing the perpetrators of the attacks, Mr. Mukherjee said: “Unless the perpetrators are brought to justice, unless the infrastructure available to terror activities is completely dismantled, which will be verifiable and credible not only to India but to the international community, we will continue to demand it from Pakistan. It will be the responsibility of the incumbent government. They [Pakistan] will have to respond to it.” In an apparent reference to the “advice” of taking retaliatory action against Pakistan, Mr. Mukherjee said: “Human liberty and values are sacrosanct. We cannot imitate certain other countries and their actions. Many, many innocent lives are being lost every day.”

Recalling that he spoke to his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on November 28 last after the attacks, he said Pakistan informed “us in February” of the dossier sent to them. “The delay in their reply does not mean that I have to rub them up the wrong side. We understand the complexities in Pakistan. Leader of the Opposition [L.K. Advani] understands because he comes from that part of the world. So, that [attacking Pakistan] is not the solution,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

In his exhaustive reply in the Lok Sabha and later in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Mukherjee put up a spirited defence of the UPA government and dwelt on infrastructure development, economic situation in the wake of the global meltdown and foreign policy.

Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi were among top party leaders who watched keenly as Mr. Mukherjee tore to pieces the Opposition criticism of the government. The Opposition had accused the UPA government of not doing enough to pressure Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks.

“We did not mobilise a single soldier, we did not press the panic button, we did not lay mines on the border, but we said we expected Pakistan to fulfil its commitment,” Mr. Mukherjee said adding the government believed that war with Pakistan would not solve the problem of terrorism. His obvious reference was to “Operation Parakram” during the NDA regime when massive mobilisation of troops took place along the border with Pakistan in the wake of the terror attack on Parliament House in December 2001.

“We said the non-state actors [terrorists] were not coming from heaven and they [Pakistan] have admitted it,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

On foreign policy issues, he reiterated that the UPA government continued to follow the policy as enunciated by the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and pursued by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He stressed that India was the first nation to raise its voice whenever Israel attacked Gaza; New Delhi supported the cause of Palestinian homeland within a definite territory and fully supported U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“Our foreign policy only promotes our national interest and does not depend on the gratis of some country. It protects the interests of the downtrodden and has never deviated from the path of non-alignment and national interest,” he asserted.

He defended the government for upholding the dignity and independence of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. “No constitutional authority should transgress its jurisdiction, if it does so, executive will have to say something,” Mr. Mukherjee said in an oblique reference to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami exercising suo motu power to recommend removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla.

Mr. Mukherjee underlined government efforts at curbing infiltration and illegal immigration from Bangladesh, which shares a nearly 4,096 km-long boundary with India.