Pakistan using terror as instrument of state policy: PM

Pakistan was using "terror as an instrument of state policy" and the US must use "all its influence" to get it to desist from that path, says Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of his visit to Washington.

“We have been the victims of Pakistan-aided, -abetted and -inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years. We would like the United States to use all its influence with Pakistan to desist from that path,” Manmohan Singh in an interview to the Washington Post.

“Pakistan has nothing to fear from India. It's a tragedy that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror as an instrument of state policy.”

The interview would be carried in the daily's print edition on Sunday, the day the prime minister arrives in the US on a four-day visit.

In the detailed interview that dwelt on developments in Afghanistan, Iran and China, the prime minister emphasised that Indian intelligence agencies received regular reports of similar 26/11 attacks being planned by terror groups.

“Every day I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts,” he said when asked if he feared another Mumbai.

“As far as the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre are concerned, [Pakistan] has taken some steps but not enough.”

Regarding the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan, the prime minister said it could have consequences for India.

“We are concerned about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan. We have been the victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for a long time. Now if the Taliban and Al Qaeda type of terror, which in the past was located in the FATA area [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] of Pakistan, gets transferred to the mainland of Pakistan, I think it has very serious consequences for our own security,” he said

“We would not like terrorism to lead to a situation where the civilian government is only a nominal government.”

“I'm not saying that's the situation now. But obviously Al Qaeda and the terrorists have a grip over several parts of Pakistan,” he added.

The prime minister also pointed out there was a threat of a civil war in Afghanistan if the United States withdrew its forces.

On what he expected to achieve in Washington, Manmohan Singh said: “Nuclear cooperation, cooperation in education, closer linkages between the university systems of our two countries, cooperation in health -- working together to devise new vaccines.”

Manmohan Singh, who will be in Washington for four days, is the first state guest in President Barack Obama's White House.

Last updated on Nov 20^th, 2009 at 15:28 pm IST--IANS