New Delhi, Apr 18: Even as Pakistan welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's offer of friendship, the BJP and VHP declared their opposition to any talks with Islamabad or terrorist groups and pooh-poohed the J&K state government's "healing touch policy."
Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali today welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's speech in which he "extended a hand of friendship" to Islamabad. "I welcome this offer and appreciate it but the basic principles on issues will remain the same," Jamali told reporters here while reacting to Vajpayee's speech.

Earlier Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Pakistan welcomes Prime Minister Vajpayee's offer for talks.

"Pakistan will go two steps forward if India will take one step," Ahmed told a television channel.

"This approach is in favour of India and Pakistan which can create cordial relations between the people of two countries.

"Pakistan wants to live in peace with India," Ahmed said, adding "being a good neighbour, we want to settle all disputes and welcome any proposal from India for this purpose." On the other hand, the PM's peace offer came under in-house criticism from the BJP party president M Venkaiah Naidu.

"There is no question of talks as time is not yet ripe till Islamabad stops encouraging militants," Naidu told reporters on the sidelines of a cultural programme organised by BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha.

"There is no question of any softness towards terrorist groups," he said.

He said the NDA government was not in favour of talks with Hurriyat Conference as the latter advocated involvement of Pakistan as a third party in the talks.

"This is not possible as Pakistan is encouraging and financing terrorism," he said. Naidu also took a dig at PDP-Congress government's policy of healing touch asking "healing touch for whom. For the victims or the militants?"

Asked about the praise heaped on Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed by Vajpayee, the BJP chief said "he (Vajpayee) did not refer to it (healing touch policy). He only distributed appointment letters to the victims of terrorism."

The VHP today also made a scathing attack on the PM's offer of a hand of friendship to Pakistan and said the BJP-led NDA government had displayed its "sheer weakness" by supporting the PDP-Congress regime in Jammu and Kashmir.

"I am surprised that despite such bitter experiences in the past, the government is repeatedly talking peace with Pakistan. Those who do not learn from past experiences bring harm to themselves and if he happens to be a leader, not only does he lose, the entire society and the country also suffers," VHP senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told a news agency over phone from Ajmer in Rajasthan. The VHP had been opposed to any dialogue with Pakistan and had been advocating that India attack terrorist training camps in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

Criticising Vajpayee's statement that "it is our duty to make the Mufti government successful", Kishore said it showed the "sheer weakness" of the Central government and demanded immediate dismissal of the state government.

Earlier today, Vajpayee said problems could not be resolved through the barrel of the gun but only through dialogue.

"...We once again extend the hand of friendship but it should be reciprocated by both sides," Vajpayee said in a public meeting at Srinagar.

"I have said that every issue should be settled by talks. We are prepared...internal as well as external issues," he said addressing a public rally in Srinagar.

Bureau Report