New Delhi, Feb. 22: With the foreign-secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan scheduled for later this week, the government on Monday said that while it was ready to "explore a meaningful relationship with Pakistan", it is willing to do so only if India’s

neighbour "addresses the threat of terrorism and takes effective steps to prevent terrorist activities against India".

This reiteration of India’s stand that Pakistan take concrete measures to check terror attacks targeting India came in President Pratibha Patil’s customary address to a joint sitting of Parliament on the opening day of its Budget Session on Monday.

With the recent Pune terror attack indicating Pakistani involvement, the government didn’t mince words while drawing attention to cross-border infiltration either. "Infiltration of terrorists from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir has gone up," said President Patil.

On the security front, the government further said that "zero tolerance of terrorist activities is our principled policy", and that it needed to "keep constant watch and innovate against global terrorist groups". It also said it "remains vigilant against all forms of challenges posed by terrorism".

Ms Patil also said "several new measures have been taken to strengthen the country’s security apparatus" in order to meet the challenges posed by terrorism, and detailed these steps in her speech.

Besides drawing attention to terrorism, the President’s address also took note of Maoist extremist violence in different parts of the country, with which both the Central and several state governments have been grappling for a long time.

Noting that "left-wing extremism continues to be a significant cause of concern", Ms Patil described the recent killing of 24 jawans of the Eastern Frontier Rifles in West Bengal as a "cowardly act". Describing the killings as "senseless violence", she drew attention to the fact that the government has called upon Maoists to "abjure violence" and come for talks instead.

The condemnation of Maoist violence in the second paragraph of the President’s speech appeared to be in response to the demand last week by Trinamul Congress president Mamata Banerjee — a key ally of the UPA government — seeking condemnation of the brutal killings in the presidential address.

The role of the armed forces in maintaining the country’s territorial integrity also found mention in the address. The government also indicated it remained committed to modernisation of the armed forces, with the President declaring it would be given the "highest priority".

On India’s bilateral relations with other countries, the presidential address said while India further consolidated its relations with major powers like the United States, Russia and China, the country’s "Look East" policy was also being pursued vigorously.

The government also reiterated its commitment to extending assistance to two countries ravaged by strife — Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The address reiterated India’s commitment to partner Afghanistan in its efforts towards reconstruction. There was also mention of enhancing the partnership with Sri Lanka following the recent presidential elections there. "India will contribute to the humanitarian and rehabilitation efforts for the Tamil minority and long-term reconstruction in conflict-affected areas," said Ms Patil.

Age Correspondent