Nicosia: Pakistan cannot use its membership of the international coalition against terror as a cover for terrorist activities against India, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on October 7 said hoping the global community would succeed in its efforts to persuade Islamabad to end its support to the scourge.

"Pakistan claims that it took a strategic decision to join the international coalition against terrorism. We would endorse the wisdom of this decision. But Pakistan should also understand that there can be no double standard on terrorism. It cannot fight terrorism to its West and sponsor it to its East," he said in an interview published in Cypriot newspaper 'Politis'.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan's "membership of the international coalition against terrorism cannot be used as a cover for terrorist activities directed against India. Beyond this, we are not concerned about Pakistan's relations with any country".

It was unfortunately true that thousands of innocent lives have been lost to the mindless violence which terrorism has unleashed in Jammu and Kashmir, Vajpayee said.

Observing that the first three phases of the recent elections in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a satisfactory voter turnout, the Prime Minister said, "The people of the state have clearly shown their rejection of violence and their faith in the Democratic process."

"The satisfactory voter turnout in the face of severe intimidation and threat to both voters and candidates is a decisive triumph of the ballot over the bullet," he said.

The Prime Minister maintained that "if Pakistan ends its sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, we would be willing to resume a dialogue with that country on all issues of bilateral interest, including Jammu and Kashmir".

Asked about the fallout on India of improved relations between the US and Pakistan in the wake of developments in Afghanistan, Vajpayee said, "India's relations with the US are not predicated on Pakistan's relations with that country. They have a far wider global context."

He said the past year has seen a positive growth in Indo-US bilateral engagement and co-operation. "When President Bush and I met in New York last month, we reaffirmed our commitment to an enduring and vibrant partnership," he said.

PTI