'Joint mechanism aimed at testing Musharraf's sincerity'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today that the joint mechanism with Pakistan to fight terrorism was aimed at testing the sincerity of President General Pervez Musharraf's promise to end cross-border terrorism. The progress of dialogue will hinge on this.

Asserting that there is no softening of the government's stance on terrorism, the PM said that dialogue with Pakistan will go from here only after Pakistan takes the responsibility that its land will not be used to spread terrorism across the border.

He added that there was a "trust deficit" between the two countries and talks were necessary to find ways and means to tackle it. "We cannot stand still."

The decision to set up the joint mechanism was taken by Singh and Musharraf during their talks on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Havana recently. It was criticised by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who said that it was a "conspiracy" against the country.

Brushing aside the criticism from the Opposition party, the PM said at a press conference here today said that Vajpayee had also initiated dialogue with Pakistan even after Kargil war and attack on the Parliament.

During discussions on the issue of internal security at the Congress Chief Ministers' conclave at Nainital, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that there was a decrease in cross-border infiltration and the incidence of grenade attacks and car explosions has also reduced.

Azad said that in the past six years 11,000 kg RDX had been seized in J&K as compared to less than 1,000 kg in the entire country. He gave a detailed presentation of the state government's efforts to tackle terrorism.

Many other CMs sought additional Central funds to strengthen their police force to fight against terrorist activities.