Pakistan admission a diplomatic victory, says Cong

NEW DELHI: Countering BJP���s charge of being ���soft on terror,��� the Congress presented Islamabad���s unprecedented admission as "the singular triumph of diplomatic initiative" of the UPA government.

Making political capital out of the development, the party described the admission as "formal acknowledgement of Pakistan harbouring and exporting terrorists, of conceiving, designing, and partly executing terrorist activities."

As the Opposition party warned that the government should not walk "into the trap laid by Pakistan," the Congress toned down its self congratulatory rhetoric. It said it was not the time to be ���complacent,��� and that "it was not the end but the beginning of a journey."

Crediting the UPA government for the feat of getting Pakistan to admit its culpability, the party spokesperson said that it was the "nature of evidence" that made it possible.

"India has been the unfortunate victim in the past. It has been the victim of unfortunate and unpardonable acts in the past, like the Kargil war and the attack on Parliament. Acts which were no less terrible and dastardly than the Mumbai attack. But this is the first time that Pakistan has admitted to its soil being used for attacks," Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

The Congress it seems is unlikely to temper down its pitch against Pakistan. A signal that the party would ratchet up the rhetoric was evident from external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee���s statement in Parliament which referred to Islamabad���s "misplaced sense of victimhood." Though the pitch was lower, some of the tough talk that has characterised the Congress since the November attacks was evident. The Congress spokesperson said there will be the strictest scrutiny.