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New Delhi: Disapproving the doctrine of “hot pursuit” of terrorists in Pakistan, the Congress on Wednesday said it was not possible due to geographical proximity of the two countries and asked BJP not to politicise the important issue of foreign policy.
The party said that the UPA government has consistently kept terrorism at the centrestage of any talks with Islamabad and is pursuing its objective in its own way.
Reminding BJP of its many “failures” in several attempts made by the previous NDA regime on the issue, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said it will be more appropriate if the BJP and Arun Jaitley did not politicise the issue. She was reacting to BJP asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to have a rethink on the policy of dialogue with Pakistan despite the country sponsoring terrorism as borne out by the fact that Osama bin Laden was hiding near a military academy in Abbotabad.
She also denied that the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Home Minister P Chidambaram were speaking in different voices as was evident from their statements after Osama’s killing. She said that they all represent the same view as that of the party.
Supporting Chidambaram’s stand that the perpetrators of Mumbai strikes have to be punished, Jayanthi said that Hafiz Saeed must be apprehended as soon as possible. She endorsed US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer’s statement that Pakistan “needs to show” progress and results in Mumbai trials.
She also dismissed Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir’s remark describing as “outdated” India’s demand for action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and said such statements were not “helpful” for the peace process.
Expressing concern over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, she said that India has been insisting that all infrastructure of terror unleashed by Pakistan must be stopped and unless this happens, no progress in bilateral talks can happen.
The party said that the UPA government has consistently kept terrorism at the centrestage of any talks with Islamabad and is pursuing its objective in its own way.
Reminding BJP of its many “failures” in several attempts made by the previous NDA regime on the issue, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said it will be more appropriate if the BJP and Arun Jaitley did not politicise the issue. She was reacting to BJP asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to have a rethink on the policy of dialogue with Pakistan despite the country sponsoring terrorism as borne out by the fact that Osama bin Laden was hiding near a military academy in Abbotabad.
She also denied that the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Home Minister P Chidambaram were speaking in different voices as was evident from their statements after Osama’s killing. She said that they all represent the same view as that of the party.
Supporting Chidambaram’s stand that the perpetrators of Mumbai strikes have to be punished, Jayanthi said that Hafiz Saeed must be apprehended as soon as possible. She endorsed US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer’s statement that Pakistan “needs to show” progress and results in Mumbai trials.
She also dismissed Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir’s remark describing as “outdated” India’s demand for action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and said such statements were not “helpful” for the peace process.
Expressing concern over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, she said that India has been insisting that all infrastructure of terror unleashed by Pakistan must be stopped and unless this happens, no progress in bilateral talks can happen.
