Indian PM defends Pakistan talks

The two leaders said terrorism was their common threat

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said his country had no choice but to hold peace talks with Pakistan.

He said the alternative was to go to war which was not in anyone's interest.

Speaking in parliament, Mr Singh said he believed that Islamabad had made some progress in its investigation into last year's Mumbai attacks.

The leaders of the two countries met recently in Egypt and agreed to restart talks, but the move was heavily criticised in India.

'Harsh reality'

"I say with strength and conviction that dialogue is the best way forward," Mr Singh said on Wednesday.

I told him [Geelani] we had no interest in destabilising Pakistan Indian PM Manmohan Singh

"The harsh reality of the modern world power structure is that when it comes to matters of our own self interest… we have to help ourselves. Self-help is the best help."

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says a joint statement issued after the meeting between Mr Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in Egypt two weeks ago had led to a major political fallout in India.

It was decried by opposition leaders as a climb-down from India's demand that a resumption of talks should be linked to Pakistan acting against the planners of the Mumbai attacks.

Our correspondent says the government appeared to backtrack from the statement after it realised it would not go down well in India.

Mr Singh later said India would not restart peace talks with Pakistan until the suspects were brought to justice.

The Mumbai attacks led to a freeze in ties between the two countries

The opposition BJP said the statement had been poorly drafted and blamed Mr Singh.

In particular, a reference in the statement to the situation in the Pakistani province of Balochistan raised eyebrows, with many saying it implied that India was fomenting trouble there.

In parliament Mr Singh said he had reassured Mr Gilani that India "had no interest in destabilising Pakistan" in connection with events in Balochistan.

The prime minister said India had nothing to hide and therefore was not afraid of discussing any issue of concern between both countries.

Referring to a dossier handed over by Pakistan relating to its investigation into the Mumbai attack, Mr Singh said it was the first time any Pakistani government had accepted that a group based in its country had carried out an attack in India.

He added it was also the first time Islamabad had briefed Delhi in connection with an attack on its soil.

Mr Singh said there was no option but to engage with Pakistan. He also said that while the present Pakistani leadership might not be very strong it understood the need to defeat terrorism.

Peace talks between the two neighbours were suspended after November's Mumbai attacks, in which 170 people were killed, nine of them gunmen.

India has accused the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks.

Pakistan has vowed to do all it can to bring the suspects to justice.