New Delhi: Government on March 12 asserted in the Lok Sabha that it was competent to
take all decisions by itself to fight the scourge of terrorism and "does not need the
green signal from anyone".
Replying to a spate of queries during Question Hour on terrorism and efforts by
government to get the US declare Pakistan a terrorist state, External Affairs
Minister Yashwant Sinha said, "Whether the US declares Pakistan as a state sponsoring
terrorism or not, the world has accepted it and is exerting pressure on Pakistan to
stop it."
He said people of India had no ill-will against the people of Pakistan and wanted to
have the best of relations with them "provided Pakistan learns to behave like a
responsible member of the international community".
To a volley of questions on why India was not able to get the US declare Pakistan a
terrorist state despite Islamabad aiding cross-border terrorism for over two decades,
the
Minister said, "After the terrorist attack on Parliament, various delegations
represented India's case and the role of Pakistan and this had its impact.
"Barring a few countries, most had condemned the attack and there is now a far
greater understanding of India's concern and the role of Pakistan in aiding and
abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
Asked whether government was mounting pressure on the US to declare Pakistan a
terrorist state, Sinha said, "US has its own laws in this regard and if it comes to
the conclusion that any state is supporting terrorism or sponsoring it, the
consequences automatically follow."
He said, "America has called Pakistan an ally in its fight against terrorism. US
takes care of its interests even though India has tried hard for the past 12 to 14
months to get that country to take this decision. However, US has not done anything
in this regard to declare Pakistan a terrorist state."
To a question by Rajo Singh (Cong) whether there was any law to declare Pakistan a
terrorist state, he said, "We have POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) in place and we
can declare organisations as terrorist organisations."
PTI
