Madam President, 13 December 2001 was a black day, not only for relations between India and Pakistan. The attack on the Indian parliament by radical Islamic terrorists was an assault on the nerve centre of the world's largest democracy, on a freely-elected representative institution and on a multi-ethnic society. The aftermath has seen troops mobilised on a massive scale and weapons systems massed in a threatening manner. There is great danger that raids by terrorists will gain them access to these weapons. The situation has been made more acute by the attack on the American cultural centre in Calcutta, which is suspected to have been the work of militant Muslim fundamentalists. Pakistan has for some years been suspected of affording Islamic extremists a safe haven and giving them logistical and material support. This time, though, President Musharraf ordered action to be taken. Around 1 500 suspects were interned and some 400 offices belonging to Islamic extremist organisations were closed. This is something that gives cause for hope. The involvement of President Musharraf, a military leader, in the international anti-terrorist alliance has without a doubt helped bring his country out of isolation. His words on television to the effect that he wanted to be consistent in fighting terrorism, must, though, be matched by actions. It is much to be desired that those Taliban fighters who have gone to ground in Pakistan should be unmasked and arrested. The radical Islamic religious schools, which are an intellectual breeding ground for the Taliban, must undergo organisational restructuring and the reform of the content of their curricula. What is most important, though, is to investigate the causes of the sympathy for the Taliban and of the continuing adulation of them as freedom fighters over wide areas of the country. There is a need for intensive intellectual engagement here, which requires that state education be made a priority. People whose good education at school has gained them self-confidence and the capacity for critical judgement will also be in a position to resist all kinds of dictatorship and all forms of manipulation. Pakistan must come to accept the idea of religious freedom for minorities. This has been brought to our minds by, among other things, the most recent massacre during a service in a Christian church. The Islamic terrorists responsible for it have still not yet been caught. Anti-Christian discrimination – including at the hands of the public authorities – must become a thing of the past, as must the persecution of other religions. India has demanded that Pakistan expose and extradite the ringleaders behind the attack on the Indian parliament, and it is quite right to do so. Actually doing this, though, will require a great deal of patience. The Indian rocket tests are ineffectual as a means of exerting pressure and constitute a provocation with counter-productive effects. The Group of the calls on both parties in the conflict to bring all diplomatic means to bear on this crisis situation. We must see to it that military force is renounced. It is a matter of concern for me as vice-chairman of the delegation to the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation that Pakistan should finally ratify and implement the SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism. Overall, the path mapped out by the Lahore and Simla Agreements must be followed. The European Union is very well able to play the role of a respected mediator, which surely all the parties want. Our balanced policy has earned us a great deal of trust over the years. Both these States and the security needs of South-East Asia as a whole are deserving of our commitment.

Political group: PPE-DE