Tackle Terrorist Activities Wisely

Date: 
Monday, December 17, 2001

Press statement:

Tackle Terrorist Activities Wisely

It is imperative that the organisations and groups which planned and perpetrated the attack on parliament on December 13 be brought to book. The investigations into the attack are underway. All the evidence pinpointing the actual perpetrators must be gathered. This evidence should be placed before the United Nations and the world community. This will provide the necessary backing to demand that the organisations like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba operating from Pakistan be proceeded against. The Pakistan President will then be called to act on his statement that if evidence is produced, action will be taken against those responsible.

The BJP and some other sections are demanding retaliatory strikes on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for the terrorist attack on Parliament. Some of the ministers in the Union government have also made such pronouncements.

The demand for an across the border military strike is irresponsible and will not serve the purposes of eliminating the terrorist organisations. Instead, any military action however limited will spark off a full-scale war. This will shift the focus away from India's strong case against terrorist activities and need for firm action.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) appeals to all the democratic forces in the country to assert that the first course of action is the proper one.