Mend your ways first, PM tells Pak Deal Pak with Iron fist, suggest mantris

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday asked Pakistan to first mend its ways if Islamabad wanted friendship with India.

“We want friendship and good relationship with all including Pakistan but how is it possible if it resorts to such actions?,” Dr Singh was quoted as saying by Congress leader attending Chintan Shivir here.

Meanwhile, the tension between Pakistan and India appears to be easing with the two nations gradually realising the need to discuss issues following the beheading of an Indian soldier at the Line of Control. India is willing to give an “appropriate” response if Islamabad makes a formal proposal for talks between the foreign ministers.

“These are positive indications, good indications. Let us wait for a formal proposal, then we can respond formally,” foreign minister Salman Khurshid told reporters here. He, however, said this does show India was softening its stand. In a significant move that could well influence India’s response to future border skirmishes with Pakistan, some members at the Union Cabinet’s meeting raised the issue of allowing Indian security and intelligence agencies to explore the possibility of enhancing their capacity for launching an “immediate calibrated counter offensive’’ in wake of such incidents in future. Government sources revealed that some of the Cabinet members wanted to know whether the Indian security forces should have immediately responded along the Line of Control in a “controlled manner’’ to send out a strong signal to the Pakistan Army.