On board PM's Special Aircraft: Sending a tough message, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday demanded a ‘firm commitment’ from Pakistan backed by ‘action on the ground’ that its territory will not be used to support terror acts directed against India.
Singh, on a three-day visit to St Petersburg to attend the outreach session of the G-8 summit, made it clear that the peace process with Islamabad cannot go forward if terrorism aided and abetted from outside continues to take a heavy toll of lives of innocent.
"There has to be a firm commitment that Pakistani territory is not used to support terrorist acts directed against our country but the commitment has to be backed by action on the ground," Singh said on board the special aircraft "Air India-1" on the way to the venue of the summit.
At the same time, Singh underpinned the importance of the two countries having a pragmatic vision, and moving away from the old mindset and shackles of the past.
"We must find new pathways to establish friendly relations. I think both our countries need peace and stability and to be free from terrorism. This is necessary if we have to realise our immense developmental potential and also potential for cooperation that exists between our two countries," the Prime Minister said.
Referring to the terror attacks in Mumbai and Srinagar, he said India and Pakistan have an obligation to work together. "But in a democracy, there are limits to what leaderships can do with terrorists elements having a free time," he said.
Singh, however, refrained from making a frontal attack on President Pervez Musharraf on being asked whether India's assessment of the Pakistani leader has changed in the past year-and-a-half.
"In all these matters, there is a learning process," he said and went on to add that Musharraf "is President of Pakistan and we have to deal with people who are in government. So I would not like to use any harsh words."
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