Pre-emptive war...now there's an idea everyone can use:
India claims it has a case for pre-emptive strikes
NEW DELHI, April 4: A day after he yet again stirred up a militarist exchange of words with Pakistan, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha claimed on Friday that New Delhi had a better case to launch pre-emptive strikes against its foe than the United States had over Iraq.
Sinha told the Press Trust of India (PTI) in an interview that the recent massacre of 24 Kashmiri Hindus at Nadimarg village had infused "fresh thinking" in New Delhi's approach to dealing with terrorism which he claimed was being sponsored from across the borders.
Taking a leaf from the American ruse to launch a massive military campaign against Iraq, Mr Sinha said Pakistan had self- declared weapons of mass destruction and alleged that it continued to be the epicentre of terrorism.
"If these were considerations for a pre-emptive strike against another country, then definitely India has a better case", Mr Sinha said in his interview to PTI.
"Nadimarg has resulted in a fresh thinking in dealing with the terrorist menace. We have information about the designs of terrorist organizations and we will do our best to meet the threat."
He said a recent meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Syeed was a pointer. "Such a meeting was held after a gap of five years. The security situation was reviewed in detail. Further action will be taken in furtherance of the decisions taken there," he said.
Asked if India was happy with US assurances of pressing Pakistan to put an end to infiltration and cross-border terrorism, he said "it should be a matter of their own satisfaction".
Mr Sinha recalled that it was US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had who had conveyed the message to India that Pakistan had given an assurance of permanently ending infiltration and terrorism. If this was a commitment made to them which has been flouted, then "they should feel sorry about it, not India," Mr Sinha said.
He said the US State Department statement on the Nadimarg massacre also spoke of a dialogue between India and Pakistan as the only way out. "We responded by saying that if Pakistan has no role in the killings, then why talk to them. If it has a role, then it should be first condemned. They saw the contradiction in their approach and tried to correct it in their subsequent statements."
Mr Sinha saw a "great deal of hypocricy" in Pakistan's claim to be a partner in the international coalition against terrorism, PTI said. He said: "We regard the US and the UK as very friendly countries. We also realise that they have their own point of view like every other country. There are some issues on which we continue to have a different perception.
The problem with us is on the one hand we want to condemn the US, on the other hand we are too much concerned about what they are saying."
Commenting on the future of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit meeting which is due in Pakistan, Mr Sinha said India had clearly stated that summits should not be reduced to a "mere ritual".
"Summit decisions should be implemented in full. No single country should be allowed to stall implementation of the decisions. As long as Pakistan continues to do so, we don't see much meaning in the ritual of SAARC meeting.
"The future of SAARC could be very bright only if we make progress especially on trade issues," he added.
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