BJP opposes PM's meeting with Musharraf

Striking an anti-Pakistan posture once again, the BJP today opposed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scheduled meeting with President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Havana, saying there should be no dialogue with Islamabad until it destroys terrorist camps on its soil. The prime minister, however, rejected the demand.

"We will cross the bridge when we come to it," he told journalists accompanying him on his two-nation trip to Brazil and Cuba.

Addressing a press conference after the party's national executive, BJP President Rajnath Singh said, "In the current situation and under no circumstances can the party favour such talks. We oppose them."

The BJP chief said it would be "inappropriate" to carry forward the dialogue and the confidence-building measures with Pakistan under the current situation.

Asked why did the BJP start the peace process with Pakistan, the BJP chief said the then NDA government moved ahead after Musharraf promised to destroy terror camps in his country.

He also criticised the Left parties' alleged interference in foreign policy. Citing the prime minister's decision to visit Communist Cuba and depute Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the UN General Assembly meeting, the BJP leader said this showed the influence of the Left on foreign policy.

"What the country is having now is a proxy foreign policy," he said.