'Kaluchak Has Brought Us To This Juncture'

Ms. Rao: Good Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

You have already been informed after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security by our External AffairsMinister Shri Jaswant Singh, of the decision taken to ask the Government of Pakistan to recall its HighCommissioner in New Delhi and that decision has been conveyed to the Pakistan High Commission here through theDeputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Mr. Jalil Abbas Jilani. This matter was conveyed to Mr. Jilani by theJoint Secretary of the Pakistan Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Arun Singh at around 1500hrs today.

This is a significant step and the Government of India has after detailed examination of the situation decidedon this measure because we have seen no diminution whatsoever in Pakistan’s support for terrorism. The rateand the figures of infiltration continues to be high. We have received reports of training camps forterrorists that continue to flourish on Pakistani territory and also in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and theattack in Kaluchak in Jammu on the 14th of May was testimony to the fact that Pakistan continues to aid andabet the process of infiltration into India and that the terrorism, cross-border terrorism is a continuingphenomenon that affects innocent people, innocent Indians, innocent men, women and children. The tragedy ofKaluchak I believed graphically illustrates that.

Was any time frame being given?
We have indicated to the Pakistani High Commission that the recall of their High Commissioner should becompleted within a week.

In any case Ministry of External Affairs was not dealing with the High Commissioner of Pakistan. So what isthe impact of this decision?
I have just said Ajay, what this development entails, what it signifies and why we have decided to take thisstep. I have just now explained the rationale behind it.

But in any case MEA was not dealing with Mr. Qazi?
No, that is not the issue here. The issue is our conveying to Pakistan, our disappointment and our concernabout the continuing lack of action by Pakistan to address our demands and our concerns and the massacre, theterrorist attack at Kaluchak has in a sense brought us to this juncture.

Under what circumstances this step was taken. Has there been any precedence of such steps being taken?
I believe there was one instance where our High Commissioner was recalled from Islamabad. But I’ll check thedetails and get back to you.

Any other step being contemplated?
We will announce that as and when any further decisions are taken. But as of now this is an important step andwe expect it to be followed it through.

Secretary of State Mr. Powell spoke to EAM Shri Jaswant Singh few days ago. Was he told about this decisionand what was transpired between them?
This is a sovereign decision of the Government of India. I don’t think you should link it to conversationsthat may have transpired two days ago or whether it has figured in the discussions that we may have withanother country. This is the sovereign decision of the Government of India and we would like to convey thatthis decision that has been taken on the basis of our assessment of the situation and that it is based on ourconsidered judgment on what needs to be done. So the responsibility for it solely rests with the Government ofIndia.

Did Mr. Colin Powell give any assurances that Washington would exert pressure Islamabad?
I think you are aware of the discussions that were held during Assistant Secretary Rocca’s visit here andthe concerns that we have vis-à-vis Pakistan’s lack of action in delivering on our demands on cross-borderterrorism are well known to the Government of the United States of America and these have been reiterated tothe US Administration on every occasion possible. So we have continued to convey these concerns to ourinterlocutors from the American side and this has been the case for almost every interaction we have had withthe Americans over the last few days.

Has any specific time-table been worked out for Deputy Secretary of State Mr. Armitage’s visit to India?
No, there is no time-table.

Has the Pakistani High Commissioner been declared persona-non-grata?
No, his recall has been asked for.

Is GOI hoping that today’s decision would improve Indo-Pak relations?
No, we have reiterated our concerns, we have articulated them in ample measure on this occasion also. Therecan be no shying away from the fact that these terrorists who came into Jammu, to Kaluchak the other day, hadinfiltrated from across the border and that terrorism and cross-border terrorism which is promoted andinstigated from across our border is entirely responsible for the current situation that we face andresponsible also for generation of this tension.

When did we downgrade the Pakistan High Commission?
On December 27, 2001 the strength of the two High Commissions were reduced by 50 per cent.