Abjure violence for dialogue, Chidambaram tells Maoists

MUMBAI: Maoist guerrillas should give up their "armed liberation struggle" to pave the way

and the development of violence-hit states, home minister P Chidambaram said here on Wednesday, a day after the decapitated body of a Jharkhand police officer who had been abducted by guerrillas was found.

Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram refused to term actions against the guerrillas as "war" and said: "It is Naxalites who believe in violence, who use words like war and war preparation. We do not treat it as war. 

"We are a civilised country... we do not wage war against our own people. Maoists must abjure violence and take the path of democracy and dialogue."

The home minister said the governments of states affected by Maoist violence had been asked to discuss the issues of development, neglect, deprivation and government structure in case they give up arms.

"Unless violence stops, no development is possible... Violence is simply unacceptable in a democracy and republic. No government which has taken oath under constitution can accept an armed liberation struggle.

"We have no option but to ask the security forces to engage them (Maoists), apprehend them. It (Maoist violence) has grown over last 10-12 years... As long as Naxalites do not abjure violence the security forces will confront them, engage them," the home minister added.

Chidambaram said surrendering arms was a must as the government and the Maoists could claim to represent the same group of people. The issues, he stressed, should be dealt with in democratic ways.

The minister said no foreign aid was being given to the Maoists to wage their movement.

"There is no evidence of Naxalites getting money from abroad. They are able to raise money inside the country. But they also loot banks, kidnap and extort," he added.

Chidambaram's comments come a day after Jharkhand police inspector Francis Induwar, who had been abducted on Sep 30, was found killed on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur highway.

'26/11 evidence not enough for Pak courts'

Saturday September 19, 2009, Islamabad, New Delhi

 

A day after reports came in that Pakistan would arrest Hafiz Saeed, the man India believes is responsible for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, there's a reality check.

Pakistan on Saturday reiterated that any arrest of Saeed had nothing to do with the 26/11 attacks. What's more? The evidence supplied by India linking Hafiz Saeed to the attacks is not enough.

As an example, the statement of Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist caught in Mumbai, is apparently not enough for courts in Pakistan since he cannot be cross examined in the country.

Is this Pakistan's attempt to break the current deadlock a week before the next major India-Pakistan meeting?

First, on Friday, Pakistan charged Saeed under anti-terror laws for inciting jihad domestically. And now,  in the latest response to India's latest dossier on the Mumbai attack investigations, there is no mention of charging Saeed.

"We have arrested two people after Sharm al Sheikh. And we are committed to fighting terror," said Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Neither the charging of Saeed nor the reply to the dossier address India's key demand of prosecuting Saeed for his role in the Mumbai attacks.

In fact, even though Saeed can be jailed under the domestic terrorism charges, his lawyer is confident they won't stick.

And India is likely to press ahead with its demand to convict Saeed, who is believed to have masterminded the 26/11 attacks.

"We are concerned immediately with the terror attacks on Mumbai. As long as that doesn't find any place in the FIR (police case filed by Pakistan against Hafiz Mohammad Saeed), well, India certainly would request upon Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of attacks on Mumbai," said External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries are scheduled to meet in New York next week ahead of talks between Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmud Qureshi, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.

"Expectations are that Pakistan should focus in a meaningful manner on issue of terrorism. Been consistently stated to Pakistan side with sincerity by government of India, our expectation and hope that Pakistan will address concerns with full seriousness and full commitment so that desired outcome can be reached," said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

But as India insists, the dialogue process can only move forward in a violence-free atmosphere. The question is whether Pakistan's latest moves will make the difference.

Pak has not taken any action on 26/11, Chidambaram tells US

Friday September 11, 2009, Washington
                                                              Home Minister P Chidambaram did some plain speaking on Pakistan when he met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Thursday.

He told Clinton that Pakistan simply has not taken any action against the perpetrators of 26/11, and that Hafiz Saeed, who is believed to be the mastermind, is still roaming free despite the evidence provided by New Delhi in the several dossiers given to Islamabad.

Chidambaram, who wraps up his four-day visit to the United States on Saturday, has also told US officials that infiltration from Pakistan has increased since May this year.

"I did brief her on the state of the trial of Ajmal Kasab in India. I also mentioned about the no progress in Pakistan even in respect of the 5-6 people they have arrested. And that Hafiz Saeed remains a free man I think that is enough. I think the US understands the way India has approached the post 26/11 situation and how Pakistan has approached the situation. I think it is enough to draw attention to the difference and leave it there."

And speaking out for the first time on the Gujarat affidavit controversy, the home minister said there was nothing wrong with it. Chidambaram said it was only meant to be an intelligence input, not conclusive proof of guilt, much less a reason for killing anyone in cold blood.

The home ministry's affidavit does not weaken the Congress government's attack on the government of Gujarat in the Ishrat case, he said.

"What is wrong with the affidavit? To the best of my knowledge the affidavit says that intelligence inputs were shared with the Gujarat government. That affidavit must be read in context. You cannot read into it what it does not say. I think it is self-evident that intelligence inputs are not evidence, much less conclusive proof. They are just inputs. They are hared with governments on a regular basis. That is not evidence or conclusive proof. It gives leads to investigations further enquiry. If a state government acts as though intelligence inputs are evidence or conclusive proof, I am sorry for that government. Certainly no one suggested that based on an intelligence input you should kill someone. I think too much is being attributed to that affidavit if it is meant to defend the government of Gujarat against the excesses that may have been committed by its police I am sorry for the government of Gujarat and the manner in which it runs its police administration."

On infiltration, Chidambaram said, "The numbers are now running to about 50-60 a month. I think and a number of people that we apprehend are also very high so our assessment is that the level of infiltration has increased since the month of may 2009. We remain vigilant. I have already said both in Parliament and at the chief ministers' conference that the security threat emanating from militants operating on Pakistani soil has not diminished. That is our official position. Since the threat level has not diminished. We continue to remain on guard and continue to be on vigil.

Pak accuses India of 'shying away' from talks

Saturday August 29, 2009, Islamabad

Pakistan on Saturday accused India of "shying away" from peace talks even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had acknowledged that dialogue is the only way forward for the two countries.
"If the road forward is dialogue, then what are they shying away for? They should come and sit and talk," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a news conference at the Foreign Office in Islamabad.
He pointed out that Prime Minister Singh had "committed to a dialogue with Pakistan" and said "dialogue is the only way forward".
Both countries did not think war is an option for resolving issues as it would be "suicidal" for them, he said.
"When war is no longer an option, what other option do you have? A negotiated settlement and dialogue is the way forward," Qureshi added.
He was responding to questions about the resumption of the bilateral peace process, which was put on hold by India following last year's audacious terror attacks in Mumbai

.
"They (India) hesitate on dialogue. They want cooperation (in probing the Mumbai attacks) and give us a dossier. They want progress and then shy away from talks. Both things cannot go together," he said.
He indicated that if talks are not resumed, the agenda would be "handed over to the extremists" and they would determine the future course of events.
Asked about media reports that Prime Minister Singh had said the situation was not conducive for talks with Pakistan, Qureshi shot back: "Then what was (the joint statement of) Sharm El-Sheikh? What was that agreement? If there is no dialogue, where are we going?"
He said India had not yet responded to an invitation extended to Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to come to Islamabad for talks.
The proposed meeting between Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir was to have set the agenda for a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he said.
Pakistan had no objections to the Foreign Secretaries meeting in a third country, he added. Qureshi also pointed out that New Delhi is yet to respond to Islamabad's request to provide information about threats from Pakistan-based terror groups that Prime Minister Singh had spoken about some time ago.
Pakistan is "willing to engage" India because this had been agreed on by the premiers of the two countries during their meeting at Sharm El-Sheikh last month. "Pakistan has no worries. We are firm on our stance... Normalisation of ties is in the interest of both countries," he said.