Turtuk, June 2
Home Minister L.K. Advani said today the NDA government had changed its policy towards Pakistan after the Musharraf regime reposed its faith in Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration which had been rubbished by it earlier.
Mr Advani, who is the first Union Minister to visit five villages in Turtuk sector which were liberated from Pakistani occupation in 1971, said it would be unrealistic to keep high expectations from the proposed visit of the Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, to India.
Without specifically referring to the Kashmir problem, Mr Advani said decades of animosity between India and Pakistan could not be solved by a simple meeting of heads. “We have tried to see that no false euphoria is built,” he said. But he added that “problems of this nature are ultimately solved through dialogue.”
Mr Advani pointed out that the invitation to General Musharraf to visit New Delhi and end of ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir were carefully considered decisions.
It was Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who took the initiative for a bus ride to Lahore but the new government in Pakistan rubbished the Lahore Declaration. “Subsequently, however, they thought that both Lahore Declaration and Simla declarations emphasise on dialogue.
When the Musharraf government emphasised on Lahore Declaration, it was then decided to take the Lahore initiative further,” the minister said.
Reminding of Mr Musharraf’s offer to meet Mr Vajpayee “anywhere, anytime,” Mr Advani said one option before India was to work towards a bilateral meeting through SAARC.
Referring to the end of ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “When we decided to adopt a pro-active role (in Jammu and Kashmir) we were simultaneously willing to engage in the process of dialogue.”
Asked if it was not a negation of the NDA government’s stand that Pakistan should end cross-border terrorism before a bilateral dialogue could be resumed, Mr Advani admitted that the NDA government had changed its approach.
He said militancy in Jammu and Kashmir had been continuing for the past 15 years and it was only the NDA government which had
altered the policy regarding Pakistan following the Kargil incursions.
“We succeeded in mobilising world opinion against cross-border
terrorism,’’ Mr Advani asserted. He said the government had been able to internationalise the issue of cross-border terrorism.
Speaking to the villagers who had gathered in large numbers, Mr Advani said his visit to Turtuk had given him unmatched happiness.
He said work done by 14 Corps under the leadership of Lt-Gen Arjun Ray for the welfare of villagers was worthy of emulation.
