VOA标准英语2009年-Indian PM Defends Engagement with Pakistan

India's Prime Minister says Pakistan's pledge to fight terrorism should be trusted, but its actions need to be verified. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh notes some cooperation with Islamabad on the investigation¹ into last year's terror attack on Mumbai, but says it has not gone far enough. The Indian leader finds himself on the political defensive², resulting from his recent engagement with Pakistan's leaders.
　
Manmohan Singh enters vehicle on his way to attend second day of Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, 16 Jul 2009 (file photo)

Mr. Singh says unless his country wants to go to war again, it has no option but to engage its neighbor and long-time rival in dialog. Speaking to his Parliament, Manmohan Singh said it is in India's interest to directly talk with Pakistan, rather than going through third parties.

"I hope and pray that the leadership in Pakistan will have the strength and the courage to defeat those who want to destroy, not just peace between India and Pakistan, but the future of South Asia," he said.

The remarks were part of a rebuttal to criticism here of a joint³ statement with Pakistan issued two weeks ago on the sidelines of an international summit in Egypt. There has also been a perceived lack of enthusiasm for the document among members of Mr. Singh's Congress Party.

The joint statement said India and Pakistan would battle terrorism without linking such efforts to peace talks concerning the disputed Kashmir region.

That has prompted a personal attack on Mr. Singh by opposition⁴ parties.

A senior leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Yashwant Sinha, who spoke⁵ in Parliament before Mr. Singh, termed the declaration in Egypt a "surrender" and said the Indian prime minister has "walked into the Pakistani camp."

"All the waters of Neptune⁶ will not wash away the shame of [the joint statement in] Sharm-el-Sheikh," he said.

The document was also interpreted by some as an acknowledgment by India of meddling⁷ in Pakistan's Balochistan Province.

The Pakistani government has long accused India of financing Baloch nationalists and encouraging them to create trouble in the large, but mostly undeveloped province. India's government denies such activities.

In his remarks to Parliament, Mr. Singh said he is willing to discuss Balochistan and any other concern Islamabad has, because, as he told Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, India has nothing to hide.

"I told him that we have no interest whatsoever⁸ in destabilizing Pakistan nor do we harbor any ill intent toward Pakistan," added Mr. Singh.

The prime minister added that a stable, peaceful and prosperous Pakistan, living in peace with its neighbor, is in India's own interest.

The peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad has been on hold since last November's terrorist attack on the Indian commercial capital, Mumbai. A group of well-trained and heavily armed militants⁹ from Pakistan are blamed for the assault in which more than 160 people died.

India and Pakistan have been rivals, and have fought several wars against each other, since Britain ended its rule and partitioned the subcontinent in 1947.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

7 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

8 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。