HYDERABAD, 3 November 2003 — Pakistan’s response to the Indian peace initiative and offer of friendship has been disappointing and surprising, according to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. Urging the neighboring country to respond positively to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer, Advani asked Pakistan to hand over the 20 criminals, including Dawood Ibrahim, wanted for acts of terrorism in India.

In an informal chat with newsmen yesterday after reviewing the 55th passing out parade of IPS probationers at the National Police Academy here, Advani said that there was no “evident intention” for peace on the part of Pakistan as the attempts at infiltration across the Line of Control were continuing unabated.

He, however, made it clear that while India would continue to move toward its goal of complete and comprehensive victory over terrorism, it would also try to have peace in the interest of the people of India and Pakistan.

Referring to the offer of friendship by the prime minister in April last and the announcement of 12 confidence building measures (CBMs) by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha recently, the deputy prime minister quipped “the response (from Pakistan) has been disappointing. In fact, we have been very much concerned that there should be an evidence of sincerity in wanting to stop cross- border terrorism. I am sorry to say that this has not been forthcoming.”

Advani said that during September alone, there were 28 attempts at infiltration across the LOC but the security forces succeeded in foiling them. The security forces had eliminated more than 200 militants in September, which was an all-time high record for a month. “In the year 2003, up to Oct. 11, as many as 1,200 terrorists were killed by the security forces,” he pointed out.

Welcoming US government announcement declaring Dawood Ibrahim an international terrorist for carrying on terrorist activities not only in India but even in conjunction with Al-Qaeda, Advani said “it is high time Pakistan handed over to India the 20 criminals named by the Interpol and the government of India as having been guilty of terrorist acts in India so that law takes its own course.”

He said Vajpayee’s offer to talk with Pakistan on all the contentious issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, was meant to sort out the matters amicably. But the prime minister had made it clear that such talks would be fruitful only when the continuing killings and violence ended. “Six months have passed to that offer but nothing came out of that,” he said.

“So far as India is concerned, after that offer, our country has undertaken many confidence building measures to strengthen the people-to-people contacts between the two countries. They included the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security to restore the diplomatic relations at the level of high commissioner which led to the exchange of high commissioners between the two countries,” he explained.

He regretted that Pakistan responded in a very surprising manner to India’s offer of treatment facilities to Pakistanis in India. “The response Pakistan has given to that offer clearly shows that Pakistan does not have any evident intention of peace. It was a surprising thing on the part of Pakistan to say that ‘OK, you send the victims of rape in India’ to them,” he observed.

Earlier, in his address after reviewing the passing out parade, Advani said that Pakistan was jealous of the progress India was making on all fronts.