New York, Oct 7: Pakistan and other states from where terrorists are operating from, should be declared "rogue states," top BJP leader Rajnath Singh has said, noting that India is still haunted by memories of the Mumbai attacks.
"Since its (Pakistan) soil is being used for terrorism it should be declared a rogue state or a failed state," Singh, a former BJP president told PTI here.
"India has been a victim of terrorism for decades. The people of India continue to pay a heavy price in our fight against terrorism. The haunting memories of horrific terrorist attack o Mumbai in the year 2008, which was planned and executed from across the border, and witnessed by the whole world on TV, are still alive. We are determined to confront this challenges unshakably and decisively," Singh told UN General Assembly.
If this happens, then the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) or the Security Council must take strong action, he said.
"The people of India continue to pay a heavy price in our fight against terrorism. Terrorism is a global threat and requires a coordinated and concerted global response to combat it." he added, noting that country was still haunted by memories of the attack in Mumbai.
Singh, on Wednesday, opted to make his remarks in Hindi and urged the UN to include it as one of it official languages.
"I am just following the tradition of my leader and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was the first Indian foreign minister to give speech in Hindi at UN in 1978," he said.
In an interview later, Singh said that the Indian government had failed to drum up sufficient international pressure to push Pakistan into prosecuting the perpetrators of 26/11.
He also criticised the US for doling out billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan. "Diplomatic skill has been missing on part of the Indian government," he said, adding "the US is still giving Pakistan billions of dollars for civilian purposes that they are using to promote terror."
"We align with the statement made by Iran on behalf of NAM. No cause could ever justify the indiscriminate killing of innocent peoples," he added.
"The mindset of attaining goals through violent means will have to be changed. Towards this end, there is a need to raise awareness in the society about the thoughts of eminent personalities like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. With our thousands of years of tradition of harmonising divergent streams of thoughts, culture of non-violence and non-aggression, India could make significant contribution in the fight against terrorism not only at the political level but also at the intellectual level," he added.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that some US officials had said that Pakistan's ISI is coaxing Taliban leaders to attack US troops and their allies in Afghanistan.
Similar charges have been made in the past but The Wall Street Journal suggested that this one was the "strongest yet" and showed a "deteriorating relationship with an essential ally in the Afghan campaign," which had received billions of dollars in aid.
This news report was preceded by a White House report on Tuesday, which slammed Islamabad for not doing enough to battle terrorists who were operating from the lawless tribal areas near the Af-Pak border.
On the separate issue of the West's perception that the BJP was responsible for communal unrest in India, Singh said, "BJP is not a communal party it is other parties that are communal...they practice vote bank politics to try and appease the minorities."
Responding to whether the BJP would try repair its anti-secular image, which also led to Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi being banned from entering the US for his alleged role in post-Godhra riots, Singh said, "No efforts are required...it will go away with time." He added that BJP had led the country on a world stage under the leadership of Vajpayee. PTI
