NEW DELHI: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Thursday strongly backed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of the Indo-Pak joint statement and told partymen that there should be no confusion or misunderstanding on it among them.She also said that India's foreign policy vis-a-vis Pakistan has not changed."Till Pakistan shows concrete steps on anti-terror front there is no point of dialogue," she told a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here, a day after the Prime Minister addressed Parliament on the issue of the joint statement with Pakistan in Egypt.Resumption of dialogue with Pakistan depends upon whether it fulfills its promises on taking action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and does not allow its soil to be used for terror activities against India, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari quoted Gandhi as saying in the meeting.Dr. Singh told parliament on Wednesday that he would continue to try and improve ties with Pakistan. "I sincerely believe it is our obligation to keep the channels of communication open with Pakistan," he said in an address to legislators. The Prime Minister signed a joint statement with his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani this month agreeing to delink the issue of terrorism from a broader peace process halted by India after November's attack on Mumbai. Dr. Singh also came under attack for agreeing to include in the joint statement a reference to the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. Islamabad accuses India of fomenting an insurgency. New Delhi denies the charge. But he said India had nothing to hide on Baluchistan.
NEW DELHI: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Thursday strongly backed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of the Indo-Pak joint statement and told partymen that there should be no confusion or misunderstanding on it among them.She also said that India's foreign policy vis-a-vis Pakistan has not changed."Till Pakistan shows concrete steps on anti-terror front there is no point of dialogue," she told a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here, a day after the Prime Minister addressed Parliament on the issue of the joint statement with Pakistan in Egypt.Resumption of dialogue with Pakistan depends upon whether it fulfills its promises on taking action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and does not allow its soil to be used for terror activities against India, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari quoted Gandhi as saying in the meeting.Dr. Singh told parliament on Wednesday that he would continue to try and improve ties with Pakistan. "I sincerely believe it is our obligation to keep the channels of communication open with Pakistan," he said in an address to legislators. The Prime Minister signed a joint statement with his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani this month agreeing to delink the issue of terrorism from a broader peace process halted by India after November's attack on Mumbai. Dr. Singh also came under attack for agreeing to include in the joint statement a reference to the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. Islamabad accuses India of fomenting an insurgency. New Delhi denies the charge. But he said India had nothing to hide on Baluchistan.
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