President Pranab Mukherjee has strongly indicted Pakistan for continuing to tolerate terror infrastructure on its territory, indicating that Islamabad has to take action to dismantle terrorist outfits on their soil.
“Terrorist activities must be curbed. And state-sponsored terrorism can never be accepted. Therefore, repeatedly we are saying, please dismantle the terrorist outfits which are located in your area,” said Mukherjee in an interview to Euronews before leaving on his foreign tour to Belgium and Turkey. He reached Brussels on Thursday for the start of his six-day state visit.
He also said that while Pakistan asserts that terror incidents are perpetrated by “non-state actors”, it can’t be an excuse for inaction.
“I responded by saying that non-state actors are not coming from heaven. Non-state actors are coming from territory under your control,” Pranab said.
“And not now, in 2004 Pakistan agreed that their territories will not be allowed to be used by forces inimical to India,” he added. The President further asserted that India does not have any territorial ambitions and wants peace with its neighbours while maintaining its own territorial integrity.
Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech in the UN General Assembly, the President said, “The PM has pointed out that India is ready to cooperate with Pakistan for restoration of peace and solve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, through talks.” More: P7