The top leadership of the Congress is set to strongly endorse Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s diplomatic initiative on Pakistan and counter the Opposition as it prepares to step up its campaign against the Egypt joint statement.

This became clear at the party’s core group meeting tonight where Singh, sources said, explained how and why the joint statement did not undermine any Indian interests. And, instead, gave the Government more flexibility in taking the diplomatic process forward.

Singh is said to have underlined that dialogue was the only way forward. And that India had conceded no ground by agreeing to include a reference to “threats in Balochistan” or by saying that dialogue should not be bracketed with action on terror.

The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s residence, was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram and political secretary to Gandhi, Ahmed Patel.

It was decided that the Prime Minister would explain the import of the statement in his intervention in the Lok Sabha on July 29. The next day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi would announce the party’s unequivocal backing to the government at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting.

This decision comes after Congress spokespersons have been cautious in their reaction, their refrain being: “there is nothing to add to the joint statement.”

The core group is also learnt to have discussed the strategy to counter the Opposition’s campaign against this issue. NDA leaders have sought an appointment with President Pratibha Patil to submit a joint memorandum seeking her intervention to “course correct” the UPA’s foreign policy initiatives.

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