Govt. accused of 'diplomatic paralysis'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 21. The former External Affairs Minister and Chairman of the AICC's Foreign Affairs department, Mr. Natwar Singh, today joined issue with the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, over his remarks at Friday's press conference asking India to accept the reality on Jammu and Kashmir. ``He is all the time talking of accepting reality but I am afraid he is not doing it himself, as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned the reality is that it is an integral part of India and will remain so,'' Mr. Singh, said.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Natwar Singh, said that the Pakistan President's obsession with Kashmir prevented him from appreciating the secular, democratic ethos of the country. ``The General's constant reference to what is happening in Kashmir as a freedom struggle only puts up the backs of hundreds of millions of Indians'' Mr. Singh said.

Mr. Singh was also not pleased at the manner in which the Government went about the summit and also its response to the developments after the conclusion of the summit. ``The Government of India was unable to handle him satisfactorily'', he said.

He was particularly critical at the casual manner in which the Government approached the summit. In his view not only were the preparations inadequate, the Government also did not appear clear about what it wanted out of the summit, or the objectives that it hoped to achieve in the discussions. ``Even for a Joint-Secretary-level bilateral meeting more preparations are made'' Mr. Singh remarked caustically.

Even at Agra, in Mr. Singh's opinion, the Government allowed Pakistan to have a field day, ``they were unaware of what was happening at the breakfast meeting and when they came to know, they did little about it''. He also asked the Government to explain why the Prime Minister suddenly decided to invite the General on May 23. ``There was no perceptible change in the situation on the border, terrorism was continuing then why this 180 degrees turn?'', Mr. Singh asked.

Mr. Singh was also critical of the Government's reported decision to give the Shimla Agreement a burial. He said Pakistan's attempt had been to bypass the Shimla Agreement because it makes bilateralism the bedrock of relations. However what appears to have irked him more is the Indian Government's readiness to bypass the agreement. ``The Prime Minister must clarify on why the Government agreed not to mention the Shimla or the Lahore Declaration'', Mr. Singh asked.

He said that though there was no breakthrough at Agra, efforts must now be made to ensure that there was no breakdown. ``The process must continue but we should be better prepared for the next encounter.''

Elsewhere too the party stepped up the heat on the Government accusing it of ``diplomatic paralysis'' in the face of the blitz launched by Gen. Musharraf.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Seize the opportunity, CPI(M) tells Govt.
Next     : 'Maximum restraint' position may be over