WASHINGTON: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Washington on a four-day State visit, Americans heard him emphatically reject any proposition of redrawing borders in Kashmir.
"I have publicly stated that there can be no redrawing of borders (in Jammu and Kashmir)," the Prime Minister said in an interview to CNN, telecast moments after he landed at Andrews Air Force Base on Sunday.
Singh made the point when asked if he saw any prospects for productive negotiations on the Kashmir issue with Pakistan since he was reportedly "quite close to some kind of a deal with President Musharraf" before the latter had to leave office.
India and Pakistan, Singh suggested, can work together "to ensure that these are borders of peace, that people-topeople contacts grow in a manner in which people do not worry whether they are located on this side of the border or that". The issues that the two sides can discuss and reach agreement on are free trade and people-topeople contacts that would enable people on both sides to lead a life of dignity and self-respect, he said.
As the first anniversary of the Mumbai attacks draws near, the Prime Minister used the interview opportunity to tell Americans at large that Pakistan has done little to bring to justice the likes of Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind.
At one point in the interview that had been recorded in New Delhi a few days ago, Singh hinted at his exasperation with Islamabad, remarking, "I don’t know who to deal with in Pakistan."