State-sponsored terrorism cannot be accepted: Pranab

mangaloretoday.com

Brussels, Oct 4: India wants peace with Pakistan but there can be no compromise with its own territorial integrity, President Pranab Mukherjee has said while asserting that state-sponsored terrorism from across the border cannot be accepted.

He also dismissed Pakistan’s contention that "non-state actors" were behind the terror acts in India, saying they are "not coming from heaven."

 

Mr Mukherjee, who is on a four-day state visit to Belgium, reiterated that the terror infrastructure in Pakistan needs to be brought down.

"Terrorist activities must be curbed. And state-sponsored terrorism can never be accepted. Therefore, repeatedly we are saying, please dismantle the terrorist outfits which are located in your area," he said in an interview.

The President said non-state actors who perpetrate terrorism was a word used by Pakistan.

"Non-state actors, that is the phrase they used, then I responded by saying that non-state actors are not coming from heaven. Non-state actors are coming from territory under your control. "And not now, in 2004 Pakistan agreed that their territories will not be allowed to be used by forces inimical to India," he said.

He said India does not have any territorial ambitions and wants peace with its neighbours while maintaining its own territorial integrity."