Jammu and Kashmir integral part of India: Algeria tells India

ON BOARD AIR INDIA ONE: Amidst escalating Indo-Pak tension over Pakistan's continuing support to cross border terror, Algeria has unequivocally conveyed that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and terrorism in all forms have to be eradicated.

Algeria has conveyed this to Vice President Hamid Ansari during his two-day visit to the North African country.

During the bilateral talks, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal told the Vice President that his country fully supports India's position on Jammu and Kashmir, a senior official accompanying Ansari said.

However, Pakistan's name was directly not taken by either side.

New Delhi has always been maintaining that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and blames Pakistan for sponsoring cross border terrorism in the border state.

In an on board briefing, the Vice President said that during his five-day two-nation tour, the issue of terrorism was discussed with the top leaderships of both Algeria and Hungary.

Asked whether the issue of a third country's support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was figured in the bilateral talks with the two countries, Ansari said, "Everyone knows which one is the third country. Obvious is obvious. No need to take any country's name."

The Vice President said that in his discussions with Hungary and Algerian leaderships, menace of terrorism was discussed and their view was that it is a disease for the entire world and it has to be eradicated in all forms and manifestations.