PM sends clear, positive signal to Hizbul

PM sends clear, positive signal to Hizbul
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JULY 7: With the clock ticking for the Hizbul deadline, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today, in a clear signal that the Government was keen to keep the peace process on track, said that no conditions have been attached to the ongoing dialogue with the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Holding a dialogue was more important even if certain issues outside the Constitutional framework cropped up during the parleys, he told the Rajya Sabha.

``We will talk within the Constitutional framework. But while we talk, if certain issues arise outside that framework as has been happening in the case of Nagaland, would we stop talking?...Whether talks are held within the Constitution or outside, it is not so important...no conditions have been attached to the talks,'' he said, answering clarifications sought by members on his statement on the Kashmir killings.

Vajpayee's assertion came even as Hizbul commander Abdul Majid Dar demanded in Srinagar this morning that the Government make a ``fresh and unequivocal statement'' offering to hold an unconditional dialogue with the group.

Although the Government has hinted that it is not imposing conditions on the Hizbul for a dialogue, this is the first time that it has been stated officially, that too by no less a person than the Prime Minister. By not insisting that the Constitution define the parameters for dialogue, the Government has given its negotiators a fair degree of flexibility in the talks.

At the same time, however, Vajpayee said that any settlement would be within the Constitution and the Government had the option not to accept any solution that went against it.

The Prime Minister's statement came on a day when both Houses of Parliament were adjourned after the Government rejected the Congress demand for a judicial inquiry into the recent massacres in Jammu and Kashmir.

The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Deputy Leader of the Opposition Madhavrao Scindia. ``A hundred innocent lives have been lost because of the Government's carelessness. Our suspicion that there was a security lapse has been corroborated by Defence Minister George Fernandes, who has fixed the responsibility on the Home Minister. The latter should probe his conscience and think whether he should continue in office,'' he said.

While rejecting the Opposition demand, the government sought refuge behind the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, and the fact that such an inquiry would have a demoralising effect on the armed forces who were fighting a proxy war in the Valley.

The Prime Minister said that he did not know what shape the talks would take. ``But we are prepared on our part to push forward the initiative of peace. If the other side does not accept it, then we would consider the next step,'' he said.

He asserted that there need be no alarm over the ``humanitarian approach'' to the talks. ``If there is terrorism, it can be tackled only with humanitarianism.'' New Delhi, he said, had shown exemplary tolerance, patience and restraint in the face of extreme provocation by Pakistan.

``Unfortunately, Pakistan has misread our generosity and our desire for friendly relations as weakness and has adopted cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy to launch a terrorist campaign in different parts of India,'' Vajpayee said.

Responding to nominated member Kuldip Nayar's claim that Pakistani rulers were ready for a comprehensive ceasefire, he said the government had tried to find out through diplomatic channels if it was correct. ``There is no such proposal,'' he said, adding that contacts with Islamabad could be made anytime but cross-border terrorism must be stopped.

``Every time we have tried for peace through dialogue, Pakistan has responded by launching a fresh terrorist offensive. It happened on the day I travelled to Lahore. It has happened once again, coinciding with the ceasefire declared by the Hizbul Mujahideen,'' he said.

Vajpayee admitted that though intelligence agencies had warned about such attacks, officers and the administration had not believed that they would go to the extent of attacking pilgrims.

In the lower House, the government sought to deflect the Congress attack by accusing it of playing into the hands of Pakistan. ``The demand for a judicial inquiry into these killings, seems inexplicable,'' said a statement issued later by 20 MPs belonging to the ruling coalition.

The Opposition presented a divided face with the Congress finding little support from the other Opposition parties, including the CPI(M) and the Samajwadi Party, whose focus was more on seeking full-fledged discussion on the killings and the fixing of responsibility for the lapses.