rediff.com: India received US support in fighting terror: PM

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday said US President George W Bush had supported India in its fight against terrorism, but ultimately "we will have to depend on our own strength to wipe out the scourge from Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country".

During their meeting, Bush had reiterated the total commitment of his country against terrorism and condemned the recent killings of innocent people in J&K aimed at sabotaging the election process in the state, Vajpayee told a press conference at the end of his five-day visit to New York.

Vajpayee said Bush had expressed support for the election process in J&K saying it would help create a congenial atmosphere in the state and facilitate a discussion between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

Answering a question, Vajpayee rejected converting the Line of Control into an international boundary and denied he had discussed the issue with Bush.

That was the case once, but India and the US had moved on and the focus was on trade and cooperation in scientific, defence and civilian nuclear space technology, he said.

Besides, emphasis was being laid on having an understanding of regional and global issues, Vajpayee said.

External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra accompanied the prime minister.

Vajpayee said it was agreed during the meeting with Bush that hurdles in initiation of strategic dialogue should be removed so that the two countries could lay a strong foundation of cooperation in the years to come.

"I told him that I may not be there but you will be," he said, drawing laughter from the journalists.

Vajpayee said he had told the world leaders during meetings with them that the fight against terrorism should be continued relentlessly.

Referring to the September 11 attacks in the US, he said he had made it clear to them that terrorists knew no boundaries and they could strike anytime, anywhere.

Recalling his meeting with Bush on September 12, Vajpayee expressed relief that September 11 had passed off peacefully. Bush told him that he was also worried that nothing untoward should happen.

Vajpayee said he had a satisfying visit to New York where, besides attending the 57th session of the UN General Assembly, he met a number of heads of state and other leaders.

Welcoming the opportunity to meet a group of US senators and congressmen, the prime minister said, "There is broad political support both in the Senate and the House of Representatives for strong India-US relations."

Vajpayee said the Jewish community in the US "has been strongly supportive of India in the US congress and outside on terrorism and other important issues".

He said during his meeting with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, "I conveyed to him a strong message of our support for the unity and independence of Afghanistan."

Karzai "appreciated India's financial, economic and technical assistance to his country", he said.

Vajpayee said India's close ties with Mauritius were reaffirmed during his meeting with Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth.

"Our cooperation with Mauritius," he said, "is strong and vibrant. A Union Cabinet minister will shortly visit Mauritius to lay the foundation stone of their cyber city, built under Indian financial assistance of $100 million and with our technical cooperation. I invited the prime minister to the inaugural Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas celebrations in New Delhi in January next."

In his meeting with Denmark's prime minister, Vajpayee said, "We discussed intensification of India-EU cooperation in the context of the coming India-EU summit in Copenhagen. We agreed to jointly attend a session of India-EU business summit on the eve of the Heads of Government summit."

With Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, he said he discussed the follow-up of initiatives, which they had announced during his visit to that country late last year.

The prime minister said he had the opportunity to meet the newly elected President of Zambia, Levy Mwanawasa, and to reiterate to him India's commitment to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

Vajpayee said he reiterated his invitation to the president to visit India. A number of areas of cooperation, including small-scale industry and agricultural development, between the two countries were identified.

With Bulgaria, Vajpayee noted, India had close ties, both bilaterally and in the UN.

"I conveyed our appreciation to Bulgaria for their support to us in matters of concern in the UN Security Council. Bulgaria has also extended its support to India's permanent membership of the UN Security Council."

Vajpayee said a common theme running through all these meetings was that of international terrorism.

Every single world leader whom he met condemned the terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in India, he said.

Meeting in New York during the first anniversary of the horrible tragedy in the US, "I naturally discussed with all these leaders the imperative need for democracies to cooperate in rooting out terrorism effectively and without discrimination", the prime minister said.

After a night's halt in Zurich, Vajpayee was scheduled to reach New Delhi on Tuesday night.


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