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Sunday, January 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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Musharraf backtracked on extradition issue: Advani
Tribune News Service

Home Minister L.K. Advani at a national seminar on Islam’s message of peace against terrorism in New Delhi on Saturday. — PTI photo

New Delhi, January 19
Stressing that the government will continue with its “hard-hitting” diplomatic campaign against Pakistan till it translates its commitment on suppression of terrorism into action, Home Minister L.K. Advani today said President Pervez Musharraf had backtracked on an extradition treaty when India mentioned the names of those accused in the Mumbai blasts.

As President Musharraf again refused to hand over the 14 Indian nationals whose names are mentioned in the list of 20 handed over to Pakistan by India earlier this month, the Home Minister said during his meeting with Pakistani President on the eve of the Agra Summit here, he had broached the subject and the Pakistani leader agreed on an extradition treaty between the two countries.

But, President Musharraf backtracked the moment a reference was made to the Mumbai blast accused staying in Karachi and that was the end of it, Mr Advani said at a function here.

Mr Advani recalled that he had told General Musharraf that these Mumbai blast accused were staying in official residences and were travelling in Limousines.

The minister said he had raised the issue of extradition with him since he had just returned from Turkey after signing an extradition agreement there.

Mr Advani said he had told General Musharraf that there was need for an extradition treaty because people from both countries committed crimes and took refuge in India and Pakistan and not in distant places like Turkey.

Pakistan’s attitude of dragging its feet over the Indian demand for handing over criminals and terrorists wanted here was evident again today when General Musharraf in an interview with a US television channel said that the 14 non-Pakistanis would not be handed over and if need be would be tried in Pakistan.

He said India’s future course of action vis-a-vis Pakistan would depend on the change in the ground situation, including stoppage of infiltration, arms supply and refuge to terrorists by Islamabad.

While describing General Musharraf’s televised speech last week as “important and path-breaking”, he said, “Mere speech is not enough. We have to see whether infiltration stops, whether terrorists continue to get arms and refuge.”

“India will decide its future course of action on the basis of these responses,” Mr Advani said addressing a national seminar on “Islam — message of peace against terrorism” organised by the Islamic Council of India here.

Ninety per cent of General Musharraf’s speech, he said, related to Pakistan and the internal problems it faced due to theocracy and religious extremism.

“There was little for India or our concerns in it,” he said.

Mr Advani described as “immaterial” the question whether there would be a war between the two neighbours.

“A war is already on. A war is being inflicted on India for the past 20 years. Till the December 13 attack on Parliament, India had been responding in a certain manner, but after that we decided that enough is enough. Our response will be different from what it was before December 13,” the Home Minister declared.

The Home Minister said in the past, it was India which always took the peace initiative whether it be Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s bus trip to Lahore or the Agra Summit.

While the bus trip resulted in Kargil, the Agra Summit did not make any visible changes, Mr Advani said.

“The December 13 attack was a turning point for India. The war against terrorism is not between Christians and Muslims or Hindus and Muslims, but between a civilised society and barbarians,” he said.

Mr Advani said in the eyes of Islam, killing of innocents was a “sin and crime.”

India, he said, had more Muslims than Pakistan. He expressed happiness that despite the terrorist strikes and the tensions building up on the border, Hindus and Muslims were living peacefully in the country.

The Home Minister recalled that during his meeting with General Musharraf in Delhi, the latter had initially agreed for an extradition treaty between the two countries but he backtracked the moment a reference was made to the Mumbai blast accused staying in Karachi. “He said they will stay there only and that was the end of it,” Mr Advani said.

In his address, the head priest of Dargah Khwaja Nizamuddin accused the clerics of “failure” in educating the masses about the real message of Islam.

Qari Mohammad Mian Mazhari, chairman of the Islamic Council, said Indian Muslims would not allow Pakistani to carry out its nefarious designs in Kashmir which was a “symbol of Indian secularism.” Former Union Ministers C.M. Ibrahim and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were also present.