The focus at the eleventh summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in Kathmandu recently was on the fight against terrorism. The Heads of State and Heads of Government who attended the SAARC summit adopted a declaration which vowed to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The Kathmandu Declaration called for implementation of the convention adopted by SAARC in 1987 on suppression of terrorism. The declaration supported the resolution of the UN Security Council on the need to fight terrorism. It said that terrorism violates the fundamental values of the United Nations and constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security in the 21st century. The leaders of the seven SAARC countries rejected justification of terrorism on ideological, political, religious or any other ground.

India has been fighting the evil of terrorism for the last two decades. It was given proof time and again that terrorist activity, first in Punjab and then in Jammu and Kashmir, was aided, abetted and planned by Pakistan. One estimate put the number of people killed by the terrorists at as high as fifty thousand. Most of them were innocent men, women and children who had nothing to do with politics and wanted nothing more than to lead a peaceful life.

The western countries like the United States and Great Britain turned a blind eye as India continued its grim battle against terrorism planned by its neighbour. India was alone in the fight. The western countries ignored the massive evidence produced by India time and again clearly bringing out Pakistan’s hand in terrorism.

The attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in which several thousand lives were lost, came as a grim reminder to the fact that the evil of terrorism can strike anywhere on the globe. This made the world form a coalition of nations against terrorism. The war in Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban regime there brought no relief to India. Terrorists flushed out of Afghanistan, found an easy escape route to Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan and stepped up their activities there. The battle continues. India is determined to fight the evil, alone if necessary, to end the scourge. The attack first on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly building in Srinagar on October 1, last year and then on Parliament House in New Delhi on December 13, last year were clear indications of the increased activity of the terrorists. The steps taken by India - snapping rail and road links, banning its air space for Pakistani aircraft and downzing its diplomatic mission in Islamabad were proof of its determination.

Indians are grateful that, though belated, the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon have made the United States realise that they can no longer ignore the threat posed by terrorism not only to normal life or democracy but to civilisation itself. The Kathmandu Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the SAARC summit endorsed India’s stand. Interestingly, the Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf is a signatory to the declaration and will have to prove his bona fides. The US President, Mr George W Bush hit the nail on the head when he asked the Pakistan President ‘to make a clear statement to the world that he intends to crack down on terror’. The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, was even more forthright. He said that incidents like the attack on the Kashmir Assembly or on the Parliament House in New Delhi had to be completely condemned before there can be any meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan. This is exactly what India has been saying all along. Unless Pakistan stops aiding militants and terrorists wanting to destabilise India, there can be no useful dialogue between the two countries. Mere declarations of banning some organisations, seizing their funds or putting some persons in prison are not enough. These have to be backed by a resolve, stated and carried out, to give no aid to terrorists operating in India or any other country for that matter.

The people of India are not amused when some leaders of the western countries advise India to be restrained in their reaction to Pakistan’s actions. This is precisely what India has been doing for 58 long years in the hope that good sense will dawn upon Pakistan.

It is true that Pakistan feels that Kashmir is an issue between the two countries. But cannot this problem be kept for the time being and avenues searched for cooperation in other areas? This was agreed to at the Shimla Summit between leaders of the two countries in 1972. Pakistan has been trying to wriggle out of the commitment that it made in Shimla. India and Pakistan have fought four wars over Kashmir and Pakistan must realise for ever that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that India would never agree to surrender it.