India to go ahead with gas pipeline: Pranab

New Delhi, Mar 26: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has rejected Pakistan's contention that violence in Kashmir could not be included within the ambit of joint anti-terror mechanism and asserted that the 2,600-km India-Iran gas pipeline project would go ahead despite US objections. Mr Mukherjee said he was clear that all forms of terrorism came under the mechanism's purview.

''Look, what has been discussed is that terrorism has to be addressed by both sides, that's the broad parameter and the basis on which the mechanism is operating,'' he said in an interview to NDTV 24X7.

He was responding to a query about the differences with Pakistan on the joint anti-terror mechanism. Paksitani officials had recently said that violence in Kashmir did not come in the mechanism's ambit.

About the gas pipeline, Mr Mukherjee said, ''Talks are going on. When I was in Iran, I had mentioned categorically that we are interested in the pipeline and negotiations on the pricing are going on.'' In a controversial statement last week, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman had said that he told the highest levels in the Indian government about America's opposition to the deal.

Mr Bodman called for the planned Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to be abandoned, saying it could help Iran build nuclear weapons.

''There have been talks among Iran, India and other countries about finding ways of developing Iran's oil and gas assets,'' he was quoted by a newspaper as saying.

''If that is allowed to go forward, in our judgment, this will contribute to the development of nuclear weapons,'' he said after attending a discussion on "Indo-US Nuclear Cooperation" organised by a business group in Mumbai.

India and Pakistan, though siding with the US in its global "war on terror," have said they want to go ahead with the pipeline project as they need energy to fuel economic growth.

In the nearly hour-long interview, Mr Mukherjee also strongly criticised the West Bengal government for its handling of the situation in Nandigram, saying firing on the people protesting the SEZ there was ''deplorable''.

When asked if the state government could have handled the situation differently, he said, ''The killing of so many people in police firing cannot be accepted and is highly deplorable. Surely the situation should have been handled with more care and caution.''

UNI