By Arun Kumar, IANS,
New York: External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna has told his Pakistani counterpart that there cannot be a “selective approach” in the fight against terrorism and hoped Islamabad will be “serious” about dismantling terror camps on its soil.
“By now they should have (realised) that terrorism cannot be fought selectively,” he told reporters shortly after meeting Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar at a reception hosted by her at an upscale New York hotel Monday.
“It has to be fought across the board” as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has repeatedly stressed, Krishna added.
“I hope Pakistan gets serious about dismantling all the terror training camps which are existing in the country….We expect that Pakistan will live up to their pronouncements,” he said, recalling that Khar, had during her visit to India in July, had said her country too was a victim of terrorism.
Islamabad has assured that its territory “is not going to be used for any hostile activities” against India, he said.
On his decision to attend the Khar reception, he said such gestures and social exchanges will go a long way in normalising relations between the two countries.
“The fact is Pakistan happens to be a close neighbour with which we have connection, both in terms of civilisation, we have same common history, background and language. Hence it is necessary to normalise relationship” with it.
Pakistani delegation was “obviously very very happy” with his presence at the reception, Krishna said. An obviously pleased Khar told him, “look at all the smiles at every Pakistani face.”
Khar, who was “extremely warm”, even escorted him to his vehicle after the reception. “And I was very pleased that I did go to the reception,” he said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])