War No Solution, Talks Only Alternative: Pranab

Reinforcing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s stand on the issue, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday told the parliament that neither had India “succumbed to terrorism” nor would it stop talking to Pakistan.

During his intervention in the ongoing debate over issues arising from Prime Minister’s foreign visits, Mukherjee said bilateral talks were the only alternative, but clarified that the government had not surrendered its position on cross-border terror.

“Neither have we succumbed to terrorism nor will we stop talking,” said Mukherjee while asserting that action on terror was independent of any composite dialogue.

Mukherjee, also the leader of the House, stressed that governments, over the last 10 years, had continued the dialogue process with Islamabad, despite brief interruptions which came in the wake of terror attacks in India.

Stressing the importance of talks, he ruled out war as a possible course of action saying: ” War is no solution.”