Oppn dissatisfied with PM's Indo-Pak statement clarification

Opposition was dissatisfied with prime minister's clarification in Parliament on the issue of Indo-Pak Joint Statement, with BJP accusing him of taking the country on a "perilous path" while the CPM said the terms of engagement with Islamabad were not clear.

BJP was the most caustic in its criticism with former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha saying, "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is taking India on a perilous path with Pakistan...It will take advantage of this."

He said the BJP apprehended that the PM is treading on a path for which "the country will have to a pay a heavy price". He expressed dissatisfaction with the PM's reply.

However, Rahul Gandhi came out in support of Singh's speech, describing it as "very good and convincing", thereby giving clear signals that the Congress was backing the prime minister on the issue.

"The speech was very good. The prime minister is always convincing," Gandhi said.

Meanwhile, the Left parties were critical of the government stand as they felt the terms of engagement had not been clearly spelt out.

"We support that dialogue is the way forward. But on what terms these engagements with Pak will take place is important... contradictory position is emerging after the joint statement," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said.

CPI Member of Parliament D Raja shared these sentiments saying, "There is no way forward other than dialogue. However, there are grey areas in the End-Use Agreement."