இந்தியர்கள் பற்றிய கேள்வியில் மன்மோகன் சிங் திணறல்

பிரிட்டன் பயங்கரவாத செயலில் ஈடுபட்ட இந்தியர்கள் பற்றிய கேள்வியில் மன்மோகன் சிங் திணறினார்.

அல்குவேதா போன்ற அமைப்புகளில் எந்த ஒரு இந்தியரும் இல்லை என்று முன்பு பேசினீர்களே,இப்போது என்ன சொல்கிறீர்கள் என்று ஒரு பெண் பத்திரிக்கையாளர் கேட்டார்.

அதற்கு பதில் சொல்ல திணறிய பிரதமர் மன்மோகன் சிங், அவ்வாறு தீவிரவாத செயலில் ஈடுபட்டிருப்பவர்களை இந்தியர்கள் பாகிஸ்தானியர்கள் என்று கூறுவது தவறு என்று சால்ஜாப்பு கூறினார்.

தீவிரவாதத்தில் ஈடுபட்டதாக குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டவர்களின் குடும்பத்தை டிவியில் பார்த்து இதயம் உடைந்துவிட்டது என்று இந்திய பிரதமர் மன்மோகன் சிங் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

PM speaks on UK terror probe

Barkha Dutt

Thursday, July 5, 2007 (New Delhi)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a meeting with a group of women journalists at his residence on Thursday, spoke about the UK terror probe.

He confirmed that he had spoken to the new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday.

However, the Prime Minister was not willing to divulge too many details on what transpired in the conversation except that India had offered all possible cooperation in any investigations related to the UK terror plot.

But then pressed on by journalists, he was asked to give his own assessment on whether he believed that the three Indians who have been being linked to the plot were innocent or guilty.

In response to a direct question, he said that he believed that it was too hasty and too premature to draw any kind of conclusion on whether they were innocent.

When asked whether the claim that no Indian Muslim had links with the al-Qaeda now stood on shaky ground, the Prime Minister maintained that to label either Indians or Pakistanis or anyone a terrorist by their nationality was something he did not agree with.

He went on to say that he has been watching the images of the two families in Bangalore shown on TV channels across the country and was heartbroken by the focus that the media was bringing on these particular families.

He said that this could create a sense of alienation within the Muslim community, adding that he believed that the focus on a specific community and on these families was very, very unfortunate.

The prime minister went on to say emotionally that he could not sleep last night after watching the mothers of the two men speak.

He said that he remembered how it was being a Sikh at a time when every ordinary Sikh in India was labelled a terrorist, and he believed that people should be very, very careful before branding entire communities or entire nationalities as people who have linkages to terrorism.

He did not bring up all of these specifics in his talks with Gordon Brown. This was what he said in response to questions from Indian journalists.

Indo-Pak dialogue

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was also asked what he believed was the impact of the domestic situation in Pakistan on the Indo-Pak dialogue, and what he felt when he saw the images of that standoff at Lal Masjid.

In response, he said that he believed that Pakistan was now realising finally first-hand what India has been saying for years and years that terrorism is a danger to civilised society.

He said India wished Pakistan ''God-speed in tackling a difficult situation.''

When asked what impact this would have on the dialogue, he conceded that the dialogue between India and Pakistan had slowed down.

He said this is not because of India, but because of the domestic situation in Pakistan - a situation that was so complicated that to bring the extra layer of the Indo-Pak dialogue on it right now was neither practical nor conducive.

The Prime Minister was once again asked about talks about his visiting Pakistan, about the slow pace of dialogue and whether he believed this will affect the dialogue long-term.

However, there was a sense that India was keeping its hands off the current situation in Pakistan, while making the point that Islamabad was finally confronting terrorism in its own backyard, something that India has been dealing with for decades.