June 08, 1998 - Evening Transmission
The Prime Minister has said that India and Pakistan
put the past behind them and work for peace and prosperity for future generations
of both the countries. Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr.Vajpayee
reiterated his call for an early resumption of official level talks with
Pakistan, which would include the issues like Jammu and Kashmir and cross
border support to terrorism. Mr.Vajpayee said, third party intervention
on Kashmir is unacceptable to India.
Mr.Vajpayee said, the resolution adopted by the
UN Security Council is unhelpful to India, and is not in line with the
objectives that it seeks to address.
The Prime Minister said that India cannot unilaterally
give a commitment to sign NPT but will take a decision on the basis of
assessment of its own security related issues. Mr.Vajpayee said NPT is
not a regional issue and should be aimed at achieving global nuclear disarmament.
He also pointed out that India had already announced its commitment for
voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests. Mr.Vajpayee also said India does
not have an ambition to build a nuclear weapons arsenal, or get itself
involved in nuclear arms race.
New Delhi is awaiting a formal response from Islamabad
to its renewed offer of a constructive and comprehensive dialogue to solve
all outstanding bilateral issues including Kashmir. Talking to newspersons
in New Delhi, a senior External Affairs Ministry spokesman said that the
Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee had stated a number of times that
he would like the dialogue process with Pakistan to continue. Referring
to the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council condemning India and
Pakistan for their nuclear tests, the spokesman said, the UN document is
contrary to its constitution and international laws. He added that the
manner in which the Security Council adopted the resolution is unacceptable
to New Delhi. The spokesman regretted that the Security Council has put
the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan in an odd position by asking him
to report to the Council on the progress in the implementation of the resolution.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee is likely to make a statement
in Parliament today explaining India's position on the UN resolution.
Pakistan has also flayed the UN Security Council resolution saying that
its approach to the issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
is unjust and unrealistic. This is contained in a statement by foreign
office spokesmen in Islamabad. The Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharief
in an interview with the official English daily from Abu Dhabi said, the
five permanent members of the Security Council are using the world body
as an instrument for achieving their narrow strategic objectives.
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah
says the country will not allow any outside power to dictate terms to it.
Talking to media persons in Srinagar, Dr. Abdullah said, although our country
is wedded to peaceful co-existence and non-alignment, it is now sufficiently
strong to retaliate any challenge from outside.
India has dissociated itself from the United Nations Security
Council resolution condemning the nuclear tests conducted by New Delhi
and Islamabad. New Delhi described the UN document as ultra vires of its
constitutional and international laws. A senior external affairs ministry
official said in New Delhi this evening that the manner in which the Security
Council adopted the resolution is unacceptable to India. He said India
cannot accept several of the requests made by the council. In its resolution
adopted yesterday the security council had urged New Delhi and Islamabad
to resume bilateral dialogue to solve contentious issues including Kashmir.
AIR correspondent brings more details:
Even before the resolution came before the security council, India's
permanent representative at the UN had raised a host of questions.
These questions have not been answered. That is why India in its initial
reaction described the resolution as coercive and unhelpful. The rejection
of the UN resolution by the external affairs ministry spokesman was categoric.
He also rejected charge that nuclear tests conducted by India had triggered
tension in the region. He reiterated that the exercise was undertaken keeping
in mind the country's security concerns.
The spokesman again made it clear that New Delhi will not accept any
third party mediation to sort out differences between India and Pakistan.
The non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council
have criticised the five permanent members for not initiating steps to
reduce their own weapons of mass destruction. The criticism has come in
wake of the insistence of the five nuclear powers that both New Delhi and
Islamabad should sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Addressing
the Security Council meeting, Canada asked the five permanent members to
fulfill their commitments on reducing their arsenals. Iran charged that
the wilfully inadequate response by the five in implementing their NPT
obligations contributed to the current crisis. Gambai also ridiculed one
set of rules for some and another for others. The other countries participating,
questioned the moral right of the five nuclear weapons states-USA, France,
Britain, Russia and China to impose the NPT when they themselves are not
adhering to it.
Pakistan has charged the UN Security Council with abrogating
its responsibility and making the situation in South Asia more dangerous.
Rejecting the Council's call to India and Pakistan to settle their problems
by mutual dialogue, Pakistan's ambassador to UN, Ahmad Kamal said that
if the two could do so, South Asia would not have been nuclearised. Mr.
Kamal was addressing the Council after it adopted a unanimous resolution
condemning the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. The Council asked the
two nations to stop development of nuclear weapons or missiles capable
of carrying them.
Eminent German stateman and former foreign minister Mr.
Genscher has supported India's call for opening negotiations to deal with
nuclear disarmament issues in a global non-discriminatory framework. In
an article in a leading German newspaper he said the signatory states of
the NPT have the legal and moral right to demand immediate comprehensive
nuclear disarmament negotiations. India is opposed to signing the NPT since
it is not comprehensive and not universal in approach besides being discriminatory.
Reports from Bonn say that German authorities have ordered
an investigation into complaints that several of its companies clandestinely
exported to Pakistan vital and specialist instruments required for its
nuclear programme. In a report, the British Broadcasting Corporation has
said that the supply could have made possible the recent Pakistani nuclear
tests. The BBC report said, tonnes of sensitive materials, involving latest
technology were sent by these companies to Islamabad through Frankfurt
airport, unchecked by authorities. The major embarrassment for German authorities
is that one of the companies allegedly involved in the supply, is a subsidiary
of the German Government.
China has refused to deny the US intelligence reports
that one of its ships carrying special metals and electronics used in the
production of anti-tank missiles was on its way to Pakistan but maintained
that Beijing exported only conventional weapons. Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman said that his country has all along adopted prudent and responsible
conventional arms sales.
A ministry of exernal affairs spokesman in New Delhi yesterday said,
India has taken serious note of the reported Chinese arms shipment to Pakistan.
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah
says the only dispute on Jammu and Kashmir is about the part occupied by
Pakistan. Talking to newsmen in Srinagar today on the occasion of induction
of 342 surrendered militants into the CRPF, he said, time has come for
Pakistan to vacate its illegal occupation of part of Jammu and Kashmir.
A powerful time bomb tore through a train travelling through
Southern Pakistan today killing 26 people and wounding 45 others. According
to police and emergency workers, condition of many of the injured is serious.
The 189 carriage Khyber Mail was on its way from Karachi to the North-Western
city of Peshawar.
Media reports quoting police sources in Islamabad suggest that extremists
of a Sindh nationalist movement were behind the explosion.
India has denied Islamabad's allegation that is was involved in the
train blasts. An external affairs ministry release said, the allegation
by the Pakistan information minister was baseless.
