Singh defends joint statement

NEW DELHI, July 30 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under fire at home over a recent joint statement with Pakistan, said dialogue with the neighbor is the best way forward.

The prime minister spoke in Parliament Wednesday to defend his July 17 joint statement signed in Egypt with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on resumption of bilateral talks suspended since the Nov. 26 terror attacks in Mumbai that left more than 160 dead.

Singh has come under attack by the media and opposition members who say the document separated the key issue of terror from resumption of talks. India has charged the Mumbai attacks were planned in Pakistan and maintained the talks cannot resume until the perpetrators are brought to justice.

"I say with strength and conviction that dialogue is the best way forward," the BBC quoted Singh as telling Parliament.

"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 Times of India reported peace talks with Pakistan, also called the composite dialogue, are unlikely any time soon as Singh made it plain his government did not plan to hold any kind of substantive talks, "let alone the composite dialogue."

The newspaper also quoted some leaders in Singh's own Congress party as saying the prime minister's assertions were only a "50 percent correction." They said they considered the reference to Pakistan's Balochistan province in the joint statement as a bigger problem. Pakistan has blamed India for the troubles in Balochistan, some Indian reports say.