JOIN USIndia welcomes US move to tag IM terrorist outfit
New Delhi said that the US had taken note of the IM’s links with Pakistan-based outfits like Lashkar e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islami. “This underscores once again the destructive agenda of these organisations with trans-regional links and operations, and the responsibility of all countries in our neighbourhood and beyond, to join hands with the international community to root out the menace of terrorism, once and for all,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The MEA statement came close on the heels of Home Minister P Chidambaram’s remark that India could “no longer point to the cross border modules as the source of terror” as recent attacks had been carried out by home-grown terrorist elements.
The Home Minister’s remark during an interview with a TV channel triggered speculation if India was easing the pressure it mounted on Pakistan in the aftermath of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The LeT had sent 10 terrorists from Pakistan to carry out the attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 last. Altogether 174 people were killed and numerous others were injured in the carnage, which strained the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours with New Delhi suspending the composite dialogue with Islamabad and launching an aggressive campaign putting pressure on the latter to act against terrorists operating from Pakistan.
India, however, resumed its structured talks with Pakistan this year. The two countries held a series of parleys between March and June this year, followed by a review by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.
Chidambaram’s remarks on the TV channel immediately triggered questions if it was intended to create a conducive atmosphere for sustained India-Pakistan talks. Law Minister Salman Khurshid, speaking on behalf of the government, defended Chidambaram and told journalists that the Home Minister had just stressed on the need to be vigilant against the “enemy within” while remaining alert against the “external enemy” at the same time.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rahman Malik was quick to hail the remark of Chidambaram.
To ensure that Chidambaram’s remark does not give the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party a fresh weapon to attack the already beleaguered government of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday sought to allay doubts on India’s position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Indicating that India did not soften its stand on the issue of terrorism coming out of Pakistan, Singh told the annual conference of the state police chiefs that the government had reports that the cross-border terror camps were being re-activated.