India PM plea on terror attacks
Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said that Pakistan should take steps to prevent its territory being used to launch terror attacks against India.
Mr Singh warned that without this the ongoing peace process between the two countries would be undermined.
He was speaking on the 59th anniversary of India's independence from colonial rule.
Security was tight across India in wake of the alleged terror plot in UK and a US warning on possible terror attacks.
"Unless Pakistan takes concrete steps to implement the solemn assurances it has given to prevent cross-border terrorism against India from any territory within its control, public opinion in India, which has supported the peace process, will be undermined," Mr Singh said in his speech, delivered from behind a bullet-proof glass screen at the 17th-Century Red Fort in Delhi.
Little progress
Mr Singh said India was facing a threat from terrorists who wanted to undermine its growing economic strength, as was evident in last month's train bombings in Mumbai (Bombay).
India had blamed the attack - over 180 people died in the bombings - on militants based in Pakistan, something which Islamabad rejected.
Mr Singh said India was prepared to work with all its neighbours for peace and prosperity in the region.
"We have taken several initiatives in this regards, in particular with Pakistan. To be successful, these initiatives need an atmosphere of peace," he said.
Unprecedented security arrangements were in place at the venue of the speech as well as across the rest of India in wake of the recent terror threats.
Tens of thousands of heavily armed police and soldiers have been deployed across the capital, including snipers on the roofs of many buildings.
Public buildings, landmarks, airports and railway stations have been secured across the country.
Even the Taj Mahal and India's nuclear facilities have been placed under a security blanket.
On Monday, the Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the country's future rested on defeating terrorism.
He also assured Kashmiris that the on-going peace process with neighbouring India does not imply that the cause of Kashmir will be abandoned.
In 2004, Pakistan and India began a peace process that led to improved relations between the two countries.
But little progress has been made on the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue between the two rivals.
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk
Published: 2006/08/15 04:56:45 GMT
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