UPA policy on terrorism, Pakistan deeply flawed, says Advani

Bhubaneswar, April 1: The Congress-led central government’s policy on terrorism was “deeply flawed”, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani said here on Wednesday while expressing “shock” at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement about India and Pakistan jointly fighting terrorism.“I am shocked by the statement by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh reiterating his earlier stand that India and Pakistan should jointly fight the menace of terrorism,” the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate told reporters. He was responding to Manmohan Singh’s remark on Tuesday on the sidelines of the civil investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan. “I have always said that India and Pakistan have to face jointly the scourge of terrorism,” the prime minister had said while expressing his sympathies to Pakistan over the terror attack on a police academy near Lahore.

World leaders arrive for G-20 summit

London, Apr 2 (PTI) Leaders of world's top 20 rich and emerging economies, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, attended a breakfast meeting ahead of the opening of the G-20 Summit here today which will seek ways for supply of "oxygen of confidence" to the battered global economy.

US President Barack Obama and Singh were one of the first to be greeted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is also host of the day-long G-20 Summit, when they arrived at London's ExCel Conference center.

As world leaders grapple with differences on how to overcome the economic crisis, Singh had yesterday asked the industrialised nations not to "repeat past mistakes" of resorting to protectionism and favoured sharing information and bringing tax havens and non-cooperating jurisdictions under close scrutiny.

"An issue of vital concern to developing countries is the rise of protectionist sentiment in the industrialised world. This phenomenon is not surprising, given the downturn in economic activity and the rise in unemployment," Singh said in his remarks at the official dinner hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to leaders of the summit.

Obama has urged European countries to spend more to revive the economy. However, France and Germany have resisted, saying focus must be on stricter financial market regulations.

The US President and Brown have expressed confidence that the summit will come out with a strong agreement on tackling the economic crisis.
PTI