New Delhi, August 4
Clumsily handled terror issue by India against Pakistan again rocked the Lok Sabha today with almost the entire opposition stating the matter as serious development which had hurt India’s self respect. The opposition parties BJP, Samajwadi Party and RJD came together in the Lok Sabha to demand a statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or External Affairs Minister S M Krishna before the BJP finally staging a walkout.

The issue of indefinite postponement of the hearing of Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud Dawa outfit, the key mastermind in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, by Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday was raised by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during Zero Hour and it found instant support from BJP, Shiv Sena, JD(U) and RJD.

Yadav said Islamabad, having allowed Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed to walk free, indicates Pakistan's lack of will to target Saeed, besides exposing the hollowness of Prime Minister's statement of "trust and verify" with regard to Islamabad's actions against terrorism.

Pakistan had been isolated after the Mumbai attacks. The world had come to realise that Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorism. But the Prime Minister has accorded it recognition at international scene by issuing a joint statement in Sharm Al Sheikh, Mulayam Singh Yadav said.

Taking strong exception to the recent Indo-Pak joint statement, Yadav said the document needed to be "thrown into the waste paper basket" as Islamabad has again betrayed the trust reposed by New Delhi. Asserting that Pakistan should be given a "categorical response", the SP chief said Saeed's release posed a "grave threat to India's security".

If another incident like 26/11 happens, the government will be held responsible. It is wrong to contend that Pakistan is also suffering from terrorism, Mr Yadav said categorically.