External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday that India was ready for a dialogue with Pakistan based on just one point, “give up terror,” and will address all outstanding issues if it gets a positive response. Responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's four-point peace initiative, Swaraj said, “We do not need four points, we need just one - give up terrorism and let us sit down and talk.” Addressing the General Assembly in Hindi, Swaraj said the international community should make countries aiding, arming and protecting terrorists pay a heavy price. Speaking of “the challenges that we face in our ties with Pakistan,” Swaraj referred to the terrorism threat from it and the impunity it grants terrorists like the matermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “None of us can accept that terrorism is a legitimate instrument of statecraft,” she said. “The world shared our outrage at the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which citizens of many nations were helplessly butchered. That the mastermind behind the attack is walking free is an affront to the entire international community.”
