Shimla, December 2, 2002
The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today asked the international community to take a serious notice of the observation made by Mr Vladimir Putin, Russian President, that weapons of mass destruction with Pakistan could fall into the hands of terrorists and bandits.
Mr Vajpayee, who was on a two-day visit to the state, told newsmen before leaving for New Delhi this morning, that Mr Putin’s observation was nothing less than a warning to the world at large which could not be ignored. It was time for the world community to ponder over the matter, he said sharing the Russian President’s concern over the issue.
He said this would be one of the important issues to be discussed during Mr Putin’s forthcoming visit to the country.
Referring to the economic ties with Pakistan, he said the negative response of the neighbouring country was coming in the way of trade relations. India had granted the “most favoured nation” (MFN) status to Pakistan, but it did not respond to it in a positive manner. Not only that, it even failed to implement the decisions taken in the SAARC meeting to improve economic cooperation among the members.
Islamabad was adamant that it would not take any such step until the bilateral issues between the two countries were resolved. He said for better ties we had to delink bilateral issue from initiatives for strengthening trade and economic cooperation. SAARC was not a forum for raising bilateral issues. It was a forum to promote regional cooperation to which the response of Pakistan was negative.
Mr Vajpayee left for Delhi by helicopter. Mr P.S. Badal, a former Punjab Chief Minister, Mr O.P. Chautala, Haryana Chief Minister, and Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Rural Development, who were here to attend the marriage reception of Mr Anuraag Thakur, a son of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, also accompanied him. He was seen off by Mr Dhumal, Mr Kishori Lal, Industries Minister, and other ministers and senior officers at the helipad.
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