All options open for India to protect its interests: Mukherjee

In a veiled warning to Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday that India has entire gamut of options to protect its interest, its people if Pakistan do not keep its promise of not allowing its territory for terror activities against India and to dismantle terrorist camps responsible for Mumbai terror attacks.

“Terrorism remains a scourge for our region. If a country cannot keep the assurances that it has given, then it obliges us to consider the entire range of options that exist to protect our interests and people from this menace,” Mukherjee said.

He gave indication that military option was not completely off the table, without mentioning Islamabad even once in his entire statement. His message was in contradiction to the Defence Minister A K Antony who recently had said that India was not contemplating military action against Pakistan.

Mukherjee though in New Delhi, his message was read out in Gangtok by Sikkim University Vice-Chancellor Prof Mahendra P Lama at the inauguration of the three-day international conference on ‘Sub-regionalism Approach to Regional Integration in South Asia: Prospects and Opportunities.’

He, however, did not elaborate what actions India would take in the wake of Pakistan’s failure to act on its assurance of confiscating terror infrastructure on its territory. “We have made repeated appeals to our neighbours over the years to ensure that they do not provide support to terrorist activities and to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure...but our pleas have been ignored despite assurances given by them,” Mukherjee said.

The terror attacks on India’s financial capital reflected the extent to which the terrorists had stretched their network in Pakistan.

The Mumbai terrorist attack is the latest instance of how sub-regionalism, regionalism and multilateralism are directly threatened by non-state actors with the aid of para-state apparatus, Mukherjee said.

In an apparent reference to ISI, Mukherjee said for the first time that non-state actor aided by “para-state apparatus” coordinated the Mumbai assault.

On the India’s assessment of current political situation in Pakistan, Mukherjee pointed out that the internal security of that country continued to deteriorate leading to emergence of multiple centres of power.

‘The emergence of multiple centres of power has been reflected in multiple attempts at cross border infiltration and the increase in ceasefire violations besides the appalling terrorist attacks in Mumbai recently,’ he said.