Abuja, Dec 05: Asserting that India would continue its peace process with Pakistan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said Islamabad should not only stop cross-border terrorism but also dismantle terrorist infrastructure.
During his meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit here, Vajpayee said it was not merely infiltration from across the border that should stop but the terrorist infrastructure there must be wound up, according to External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Sinha said the Prime Minister told Howard that India was determined to carry the peace process forward with Pakistan.
Congratulating Vajpayee on his initiatives to normalise relations with Pakistan and the progress made in their ties, Howard said Australia had the fullest understanding of the cross-border terrorism.
Howard agreed that cross-border terrorism should come to an end before relations between the two countries were fully normalised, Sinha said.
During the talks, Howard said that he was particularly keen to compliment the Prime Minister on the performance of the Indian economy.
Vajpayee is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Nigerian President Olusegan Obasanjo and the Ghana President before he returns to Delhi on Sunday night.
Describing Howard-Vajpayee meeting as "cordial", Sinha said the Australian Prime Minister invited Vajpayee to visit Australia which he had accepted. The dates of his visit would be finalised through diplomatic channel, he said.
Sinha said he met the Ghana President who expressed regret that Vajpayee had to skip a tour of his country.
Bureau Report