PRIME MINISTER’S
STATEMENT IN PARLIAMENT
The following is
the text of the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statement
in Parliament today:
"I received a telephone
call on the evening of 28th April, from PM Jamali of
Pakistan.
PM Jamali conveyed
his appreciation and thanks for the comments I had made in Srinagar
and my remarks about India-Pakistan relations contained in my
statement in the two Houses of Parliament. He also condemned terrorism.
As Honourable members
are aware, we are committed to the improvement of relations with
Pakistan, and are willing to grasp every opportunity for doing
so. However, we have repeatedly expressed the need to create a
conducive atmosphere for a sustained dialogue, which necessarily
requires an end to cross border terrorism and the dismantling
of its infrastructure.
We discussed ways
of carrying forward our bilateral relations. In this regard, I
emphasized the importance of economic cooperation, cultural exchanges,
people-to-people contacts and civil aviation links. These would
create an environment in which difficult issues in our bilateral
relations could be addressed. PM Jamali suggested resumption of
sporting links between the two countries. We agreed that, as a
beginning, these measures could be considered.
In this context,
it has been decided to appoint a High Commissioner to Pakistan
and to restore the civil aviation links on a reciprocal basis.
I also emphasized
the importance of substantive progress on the decisions for regional
trade and economic cooperation taken at the SAARC Kathmandu Summit.
Agreements arrived at Kathmandu must be implemented".
