PM steps up pressure on Pak: Back commitment with action

St Petersburg, July 16 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here today on a three-day visit to attend the G8 summit, stepping up pressure on Pakistan to dismantle all the terror infrastructure on its territory and asking the global community to treat terrorism ''anywhere and everywhere'' with ''zero tolerance.'' Pakistan's ''commitment (not to allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities targetted against India) has to be backed by action on the ground,'' Dr Singh told reporters on his special Delhi-St Petersburg flight.

Dr Singh's stern message to Islamabad comes a day ahead of his lobbying with the leaders of the G8 -- US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Canada and Italy -- for not condoning terror in some parts of the world, especially India.

The Prime Minister, who was received at the Pulkovo-I Airport here by the city's Vice Governor Lobko Viktor Nikolaevich and senior Russian and Indian officials, began his hectic schedule with separate meetings with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula and leaders from other G8 outreach nations -- South Africa, China, Mexico, Congo (African Union chairman) and Kazakhstan (Chairman of Commonwealth of Independent States).

At his half-an-hour meeting with Mr Lula, Dr Singh discussed bilateral and other matters of mutual interest, while he and the other G8 outreach nation leaders evolved their common strategy for their tomorrow's date with the highly industrialised and powerful nations of the group of eight.

Though the main agenda for the three-day G8 summit, which got underway here yesterday, is global energy security, education and steps to tackle infectious diseases, India has announced that it, along with other outreach nations, would take up in a big way the issue of terrorism.

Dr Singh would begin his engagements tomorrow with a meeting with US President George W Bush and the Prime Minister today made it clear that he would convey India's concerns over ''certain aspects'' of the proposed US law aimed at ratifying the July 18, 2005 Indo-US nuclear deal for cooperation in civilian nuclear energy.

Though Dr Singh did not elaborate on these aspects, the US proposal to clamp a ban on India for conducting further nuclear tests is likely to be an issue on which he would express India's displeasure.

The Prime Minister told reporters that India's firm message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was that he should honour the assurance given in the January 6, 2004 joint statement under which Islamabad would not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities aimed against India.

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