Describing cross-border Terrorism as a "core" concern, India Tuesday said Pakistan would have to do "much more" in addressing it before other aspects of the relations can be pursued.
India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told the Lower House of Parliament that India wanted to have good relations with Pakistan and in the recent past efforts have been made to "open up" talks with the neighbour to convince it
that "once the question of terrorism is addressed by Pakistan, then certain other things will follow".
He was replying to a debate on Demand for Grants for the Ministry of External Affairs during which the opposition slammed the government's foreign policy as "hazy and directionless" and said India should not look up to the US in dealing with Pakistan over terrorism.
Responding to the views expressed by opposition members,including Murli Manohar Joshi of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Krishna contended that security considerations were part of the country's foreign policy.
He referred to the February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks and said the initiative for it was taken by India on its own and "without any prodding by anyone".
The idea behind the invitation to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir to visit India for talks was to "convey our serious concerns about terror they unleash from across the border," he said, adding "We conveyed what needed
to be conveyed".
During the talks, he said the two sides had agreed to keep contacts open so that there could be a return visit by the Indian Foreign Secretary.
Underlining that "terrorism is one of our core concerns" in relations with Pakistan, Krishna said, "We want Pakistan to do much more (on mitigating it)." He said this had been
communicated to Pakistan.
Noting that Composite Dialogue had been going on till Mumbai attacks, the Minister said India had to suspend it to convey "righteous indignation" of the people of the country.
Krishna said India had candidly conveyed to the US its concerns over misuse of weapons given by it to Pakistan.
The US has said it would be sensitive to India's concerns on cross-border terrorism, he said.
On the issue of David Coleman Headley, the minister said the US was positive to India's request for access to the key accused in Mumbai attack.
Krishna said relations with the US have been strengthened over the years and the Indo-US civil nuclear deal was a significant milestone in this regard.
On Afghanistan, the Indian External Affairs Minister said as a neighbour India cannot be immune to developments in that country as they impact India's security.
He said India will continue its developmental activities in Afghanistan with which it has civilisational links.
"A peaceful and secure Afghanistan will send a powerful signal to the world," Krishna said.
On relations with China, the minister said there were complex issues like the outstanding boundary question and "we believe dialogue and negotiations are the best way to resolve"
these.
Pending a resolution, peace and tranquility shall be maintained on the border and the two sides would remain engaged in talks, he said.
Krishna said during his recent visit to China, he had also raised the issue of the country issuing stapled visas to Indians hailing from certain parts like Kashmir.
He said India believes that these issues should be solved not in the spirit of confrontation but by carrying out dialogue and discussion.
Krishna noted that trade with China had grown by "leaps and bounds" in recent years.
On Iran, which is facing imminent UN sanctions over its nuclear programme, he said India did not believe in the "efficacy" of such punitive measures as they affect common
people the most.
"We believe differences (over Iran's nuclear programme) can be resolved peacefully," Krishna said adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should have the central role in these efforts.
He maintained that Iran had the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy but also had obligations to adhere to international commitments as a signatory to Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty.
With regard to Nepal, he expressed "surprise" over Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's remarks that India was not taking relations with Nepal seriously.
To buttress his point, Krishna said there have been two foreign ministerial visits from India to Nepal since 2008.