'We Do Not Fear International Isolation'

We can say that theDecember 13^th attack was also the same as that of September 11^th,I think we must also look at our reaction. After September, 11^thincident, there was not one voice that was uttered against President Bush andhis Government. Why? It is because the United States of America knows what it isto stand together in an hour of crisis. Unfortunately, in our case it is sad butit is true.

I know what securityfailure is. If security were to have failed on December 13^th, it is afact, unfortunate but true, a lot of us may not have been here today. That is acredit to the security forces, to their bravery and to the fact that we had asystem in place that allowed us to withstand the worst possible attack. When oneor more people act with an intention of laying down their lives for a cause, itis extremely difficult to safeguard against such people.

Now, a lot has beensaid about how India has been isolated after this attack and the world has notjoined us in condemning it. President Bush called our Prime Minister on the verysame day; Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke to the Prime Minister Vajpayee thevery same day. There have been messages of condemnation from almost everycountry of the world condemning what happened on the December 13^th asan act of terrorism.

A lot has been saidabout how this Government has internationalized Kashmir and how Kashmir hasbecome an international issue. The fact of the matter is that Kashmir wasinternationalized long before the NDA Government took charge; the fact of thematter is that terrorism now has been internationalized by us. The world atlarge now recognizes that India is a victim of the worst form of internationalterrorism and they are standing by us in our hour of need.

What is India’sresponse going to be, what we are going to do. There have been voices in favourof taking on camps in Pakistan. There have also been voices that they havetalked in terms of diplomacy. Diplomacy, of course, is our primary initiative,our primary goal. We are not an irresponsible Government. If India were anirresponsible Government or rather if the NDA were an irresponsible Government,not aware of its international obligations and commitments, after Kargil, wewould have gone across the Line of Control and done whatever we had to, then.

Keeping in mind theresponsibilities that we have to our country, to our people and beyond to theinternational community, we have always, where necessary, acted with restraintand with the great degree of maturity possible. We will do what is necessary toprotect our borders, but it will not be the first option that we will consider.Force, violence and war will never be the first option of this NDA Governmentunder the able leadership of hon. Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Thismuch I can assure the House and we can assure the rest of the country.

A lot has beenmentioned about the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear power and this in itselfshould stop us. I for one, and this is my own personal opinion, am reluctant tobelieve that in the event of a normal war going against them, Pakistan willchoose the nuclear option. This is not something that we have to always talkabout because the more we talk about this, the more we limit our own securityoptions which I do not think we should do.

We do not fearinternational isolation. We have never feared international isolation where adecision has been in the interests of national security. I was not, going to usethis opportunity to talk about POTO because this is not a debate on POTO. Butsince Shri Somnath Chatterjee made reference to POTO and made reference to me inthe same sentence. I still believe that POTO is a law which is necessary. MyParty believes that it is necessary which is why the Jammu and KashmirGovernment has already implemented POTO in J&K.

I am a Kashmiri andproud of being an Indian. It is my humble appeal to everyone, both within theHouse and outside, that not all Muslims are Pakistanis and not all Kashmiris areterrorists. There are more than enough Kashmiris today who are laying down theirlives for this country. The Jammu and Kashmir Police who are working side byside with the Central Agencies, not only to crack this crime but all otherincidents of terrorism, are also Kashmiri. They are also Muslim but they laydown their lives every day for this country.

I once again like toreiterate this Government’s firm resolve and commitment to combat all forms ofPakistan’s nefarious designs both diplomatically and if, once again if, needarises, we will combat them by any means necessary. But we will most certainlykeep the sentiments, opinions and the security of the people of India foremostin our thoughts before we decide.