his first reaction after Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley’s stunning disclosures about ISI’s role in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan to control jihadi groups that target India and underlined that it was in Islamabad’s interest to control the “monster of terrorism” it has unleashed. According to a report carried by the Hindustan Times, Singh said the dialogue process that had been resumed would continue, adding that India should “use every possible opportunity to talk to Pakistan and convince them that terror as an instrument of state policy is not simply acceptable to the civilised world”. Singh said, “The more I see of what is happening in Pakistan, the more I am convinced that Pakistan’s leadership must now wake up, and must recognise that the terror machine they have or at least some elements in the country patronise, is not working to anybody’s advantage.”
“As Pakistan’s neighbour, we have great worries about the terror machine that is still intact in Pakistan. We would like Pakistan to take much more effective action to curb the activities of those jihadi groups which particularly target a country like India.” Reacting to Headley’s disclosures in a Chicago court that had nailed the ISI role in 26/11 attack, Singh said: “This trial of David Headley has not brought out anything new that we did not know.” “The trial is still on, we will study it when the trial is completed. But as I said, it has not revealed anything which we did not know,” he said, telling Pakistan upfront that some elements in that country patronise terror as an instrument of state policy.
Meanwhile, India’s Defence Minister AK Antony has claimed that 42 terrorist camps were functioning on Pakistani soil. “Even when we have problems with our neighbours like China on border disputes, we have good relations with them. With regard to Pakistan, the biggest problem in permanent good relations with them is there are 42 terrorist camps functioning there,” he said on Saturday. For better relations with India, Pakistan would have to dismantle the terror camps on its soil, he said. “India has a policy of having good relations with all neighbours. We can change friends, but neighbours cannot be changed,” Antony said. “To have excellent relations with Pakistan, they have to first destroy those terrorist camps and without that, it is practically impossible to have the best of relations with them,” he added.