Author: Agencies
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: September 10, 2002
Introduction: Promises to Reaffirm
India's Stand Against Terrorism During UN Meet
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
on Monday dismissed reports of con- version of Line of Control (LoC) as
the border between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, saying
he had 'also heard about it'. The Prime Minister was leaving on a week-long
tour to US to attend UN General Assembly session.
Talking to reporters before departure,
Mr. Vajpayee also denied that there was any proposal to allow Ram Jethmalani-led
Kashmir Committee to visit Pakistan to hold talks with Hurriyat leaders
there. There is no such proposal before us,' he said.
He said that in his talks with US
President George W Bush and other world leaders on the fringes of the UN
General Assembly he would reaffirm India's determination to firmly counter
terrorism across the globe.
"Our basic message is that the democracies
of the world have a crucial role in countering terrorism together,' Mr.
Vajpayee, who will be addressing the UN General Assembly on September 13,
said.
Asked whether Washington was really
keen on New Delhi's request to jointly counter cross-border terrorism backed
by Pakistan, he said, 'They (US) are saying that they are fulfilling their
promise and would continue to do so.' The PM said, 'In the present world
situation, it is inevitable that the global war against terrorism, as well
as our own determined efforts against cross-border terrorism, would figure
in my various bilateral interactions in the US.'
He said during his last visit to
the US, President Bush and he had "agreed on a detailed roadmap for multi-faceted
development of our bilateral co-operation'.
"I hope that this process will be
carried forward in my discussions with President Bush and in other meetings
which external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha and national security advisor
Brajesh Mishra will have with their counterparts,' Mr. Vajpayee said.
He said, 'My visit coincides with
the first anniversary of the brutal terrorist attack on the World Trade
Centre and a number of world leaders will be in New York both to honour
the memory of the victims of that tragedy and to reaffirm the determination
to firmly counter terrorism.'
