New Indian Govt extends ‘hand of friendship’ to Pakistan

INDIA: India’s new government said Saturday it was ready to extend “the hand of friendship” to arch-rival Pakistan as long as Islamabad moves to dismantle Islamic militant groups based on its soil.

The offer followed a US report earlier this week that Pakistan and India have started sharing intelligence as part of an unprecedented cooperation effort between the nuclear-armed foes overseen by Washington. S.M. Krishna, named foreign affairs minister earlier Saturday, said the government’s policy was to boost ties with neighbours, including Pakistan, blamed for involvement in a militant attack that killed 166 people in Mumbai last year.

“We would like to live in peace with our neighbour... that has been our desire and we are pursuing that,” Krishna, 77, told his first news conference in the job.

“We stand ready to extend our hand of friendship and partnership to Pakistan if they take determined and credible action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism operating from their territory,” said Krishna,

“We cannot change our neighbours,” the former US Fulbright scholar added as he sketched out the main foreign policy priorities of the Congress-led government, which scored a resounding victory in month-long general elections.

Pakistan and India began a peace process in 2004 but it ground to a halt after New Delhi blamed last November’s attacks in Mumbai on the Pakistan-based militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

New Delhi, Sunday, AFP