‘Will resume talks if Pak becomes a normal state’
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Through public suggestions, the ministry is likely to start the programme by January 2019. Stamping on boarding cards will be removed. —Faizan Haider
A top Indian official said that India would unilaterally do all that is required to normalise ties with Pakistan if the country, under the leadership of Imran Khan, takes effective measures to clamp down on terror groups targeting India and South Asia.
The comments of the official, one of the senior most in the Indian security-diplomatic establishment, come in response to Pakistan Prime Ministerdesignate Imran Khan’s comments that if India takes one step towards Pakistan, it would take two.
“One need not be poetic about bilateral relations. India does not need Pakistan to take two steps as the Modi government will take all the steps required once Islamabad delinks terror groups as an instrument of its foreign policy,” the South Block official said on the condition of anonymity.
The rise of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) doesn’t come as a surprise to India, the official said, because the former cricketer’s proximity to the army is known. Rawalpindi GHQ exercises a lot of influence in Pakistan’s domestic as well as foreign policies. India, the official added, would wait and see how Khan proceeds against terror groups and delivers on Islamabad’s past assurances and commitments on dealing with the perpetrators of the 26/11 and the Pathankot terror attacks before taking the next step.
According to the official, India will continue to put sustained pressure on Pakistan to deliver on its promises regarding these and also seek global support to ensure that Islamabad turns off funding and training of jihadists in pursuance of its national objectives.
“Islamabad should not blame India for defaming its name or convince China to agree to put Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for funding terror groups. Instead, it should concentrate on taking action against globally proscribed terror groups. Pakistan has to just become a normal state for India to resume talks and bilateral ties,” said the official.
Significantly, Khan’s statement
India’s artillery is all set to acquire teeth with five US-made 155 mm M 777 ultra light howitzers currently being tested in the Pokhran area of Rajasthan for preparing fire tables after successful live testing in Ladakh, Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
India will acquire 145 such guns as part of a deal with US manufacturer BAE systems in the next three years. A fire table tells gunners the angles at which the artillery guns should be fired to hit targets at a specific
is in consonance with the Pakistan army’s peace overtures on the Line of Control (LoC) during the general elections as well as in the weekly DGMO-level telephonic communications. There has hardly been any firing across the LoC and infiltration has been limited to small groups of 4-6 militants, who do not have usual covering fire support, crossing into Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army Chief has also been talking in terms of peace with India.
Indian diplomats, foreign policy mandarins and army officials are closely monitoring events in Pakistan, particularly any action that Khan takes with the support of Rawalpindi GHQ to weed out terrorist leaders including ones carrying global rewards on their head, from the
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The ministry is finalising its national clean air programme. The document will reveal how serious the government is about keeping air clean. —Malavika Vyawahare
NEW DELHI:
distance.
India has been working to strengthen its artillery, perhaps for the first time since the 1980s Bofors scandal. The army is also acquiring 10 K-9 mounted guns from South Korea as part of a 100 gun deal signed with Hanwha Tech Win. As part of the deal, 10 guns will be directly imported and the remaining made in India with a local partner. India has the option of acquiring another 50 guns through the same government to government route through which the first 10 were bought. HTC
NEWDELHI:
political process. In this context, Pakistan’s action on 26/11 main accused Hafiz Saeed and Pathankot airbase attack perpetrator Masood Azhar will define the future course of bilateral relationship.
Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran told Hindustan Times that there should be no hurry on the part of India to judge Khan’s intentions.
“Let him first take office as Prime Minister of Pakistan and then spell out his new initiatives. He has talked about having trade ties with India. Let’s not prejudge the issue as people of Pakistan have shown that when given a choice they have no truck with the likes of Hafiz Saeed. Not one of the Lashkar candidates won in the election. The best is to wait and watch.”