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India stays further N-tests

India today announced that it had put a moratorium on further nuclear tests and offered to formalise it into an obligation through negotiations with key world powers.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Brajesh Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, said India had conducted the nuclear tests for its defence. ''They are a deterrent and we hope they are not used.''

Asked about India's relations with China and Pakistan in the context of the recent nuclear tests, he said New Delhi was willing to have ''very good'' relations with both its neighbours and desired to engage in a dialogue to resolve outstanding issues.

Answering another question on China, Mishra said the two countries, which had some problems, were having a dialogue at various levels. ''We want to continue that.''

Both sides had made statements in the past few days and hoped these would be set aside so that the two countries could carry on the dialogue, he added.

Referring to Pakistan, Mishra said India was keen on a dialogue with Islamabad and was awaiting its response on the eight-point proposal made by the then prime minister, I K Gujral, to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief during the India-Pakistan-Bangladesh economic summit in Dhaka in January.

He explained that when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had stated recently that the initiative for the talks should come from Islamabad, what he meant was that he was waiting for Pakistan's formal response to the Indian proposals.

He said Gujral's proposal to Islamabad had the backing of the BJP, and this fact was known to Pakistan.

Mishra made it clear that any dialogue with Islamabad would naturally include a discussion on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. While India would express its views on POK in the context of the February 1994 resolution of Parliament that it was an integral part of this country, Pakistan was free to raise its concerns about Kashmir.

He said another matter that India would take up would be Pakistan-sponsored terrorism directed towards India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked to comment on the rising heat between India and the United States in the past two-three days, Mishra said, ''What has happened is regrettable. We did not expect the State Department to comment in the manner in which it did on the statement of an important Indian leader.''

He was obviously referring to State Department spokesman James Rubin's comment on a statement by Home Minister L K Advani.

''It is out of the way and I hope more normal interaction would be possible from now on'' between India and the US, he added.

Mishra said India's willing to negotiate the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty and some provisions of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. He, however, declined to spell out these provisions.

When a reporter drew his attention to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana's statement that India was ready for a fourth war with Pakistan, he said, ''I have not seen any such statement.''

On the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's statement that it would construct a temple at the nuclear tests site at Pokhran, Mishra said the question should be addressed to the Rajasthan government.

UNI

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