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Singh demands Pakistan’s action against terrorism

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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says Pakistan must take appropriate action against terrorism and should not allow militants to use its territory against India if Islamabad wants better relations with New Delhi.

Singh made the remarks in his address to the 68th United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, a day after his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif said that he is eagerly waiting to meet the Indian premier to “make a new beginning” in the relationship between Islamabad and New Delhi.

Singh is scheduled to hold a landmark meeting with Sharif on Sunday on the sidelines of the UN gathering in New York.

The Indian prime minister also said that he shared Sharif’s hopes for better ties but warned that Pakistan must no longer be “the epicenter of terrorism in our region”.

“For progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilized for aiding or abetting terrorism,” Singh said.

“It is equally important that the terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan be shut down,” he said.

India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars — two over Kashmir — since they gained independence from Britain in 1947, often blame each other for sponsoring militancy in the countries.

New Delhi says Islamabad is funding militants in the Indian-administered Kashmir region while Pakistan says India is behind a deadly insurgency in its Balochistan province.

Kashmir lies at the heart of more than 65 years of hostility between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the region in full, but each only has control over a section of the territory.

Over the past two decades, the conflict in Kashmir has left over 47,000 people dead by the official count, although other sources say the death toll could be as high as 100,000.

Singh also said that he supported resolving the Kashmir issue, but insisted that the Himalayan region is “an integral part of India.”

“There can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India,” he proclaimed.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, Nawaz Sharif stated that Pakistan and India must build on a 1999 accord, which “contained a roadmap for the resolution of our differences through peaceful negotiations.”

“I am committed to working for a peaceful and economically prosperous region. This is what our people want and this is what I have long aspired for,” added Sharif, who was ousted in a coup in October 1999 by the Pakistani army for his overtures towards India.

“Pakistan and India can prosper together, and the entire region would benefit from our cooperation. We stand ready to re-engage with India in a substantive and purposeful dialogue,” Sharif said.

He also said that Pakistan and India have “wasted massive resources in an arms race. We could have used those resources for the economic well-being of our people, we still have that opportunity.”

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