NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian opposition lawmakers staged a noisy protest and walked out of parliament on Thursday, branding government efforts to improve ties with Pakistan a sellout of national interest. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been under attack for a joint statement he signed with Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani agreeing to delink the issue of terrorism from a broader peace process India halted after Novembers Mumbai attacks. He also drew flak for agreeing to include in the joint statement a reference to Balochistan, where Pakistan accuses India of fomenting an insurgency. New Delhi denies the charge. Foreign Minister SM Krishna told parliament on Thursday that India had nothing to hide on Balochistan which is why the two prime ministers agreed to include it in the statement. This is a strange concept that we have nothing to hide, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani said, adding Singh should have objected to the inclusion of a reference to Balochistan. And furthermore, if it was to be included, then he should have said there that India has nothing to do with what is happening in Balochistan, Advani said before leading the opposition walkout. Monitoring Desk adds: Ruling out war as an option, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday reinforced Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs position that there was no alternative but to keep talking to Pakistan and made it clear that there was no surrender by the government on the issue of combating cross-border terrorism, reported Times of India. Neither have we succumbed to terrorism nor will we stop talking, Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha. Action on terror was independent of any composite dialogue, he asserted. The NDA did it. The UPA did it. This is the way the world of diplomacy moves, Mukherjee said while reminding Parliament that over the last 10 years, governments across the political spectrum in India kept talking to Pakistan despite brief disruptions. We cant erase Pakistan. Its going to exist. War is no solution, Mukherjee said while underlining the importance of keeping talks going with Pakistan. Mukherjee, who was foreign minister when the Mumbai attacks took place, clarified that talking did not mean the resumption of a full-fledged dialogue. Keeping channels open does not mean surrendering our position on terrorism, Mukherjee stressed, adding that Pakistan must act credibly and verifiably to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure operating from its soil. During his intervention in the debate on Wednesday, Manmohan Singh asserted that there was no dilution or rupture of national consensus on terrorism emanating from Pakistan but made it clear that the only alternative was to continue the engagement with Islamabad. Seeking to allay apprehensions over his controversial move to re-link action on terrorism from the composite dialogue process as contained in the India-Pakistan joint statement issued in Egypt July 16, the Prime Minister stressed that bilateral engagement or dialogue process cant move forward if terrorist attacks continue from across the border. He also defended the inclusion of Balochistan in the July 16 India-Pakistan joint statement saying a unilateral reference does not mean giving credibility to Pakistans allegations of any Indian role in unrest in Pakistans southwest province. We have no role to play in Balochistan, he said. Meanwhile, strongly backing Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs declaration that there was no dilution of the national consensus on countering terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said Indias foreign policy with respect to its neighbour had not changed. 'No one should be in any doubt on our partys position vis-a-vis Pakistan. It remains unchanged, Gandhi said at a Congress parliamentary party meeting. 'We support the resumption of the dialogue process with Pakistan, but only after it has demonstrated its seriousness to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and to prevent its territory from being used to launch attacks on any part of our country. Gandhi also pointed out these were imperatives for restoring confidence and building an environment conducive to any meaningful dialogue. Meanwhile, India has been asking Pakistan to hand over 42 fugitives including Dawood Ibrahim but Islamabad has refused to cooperate, SM Krishna told the Rajya Sabha. Replying to questions, he said a list of 42 fugitives both Indian and Pakistani nationals, including ones involved in the 1993 Mumbai series bomb blasts and the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, has been given to Islamabad. Krishna said whatever evidence and dossier is given, Pakistans refrain is that it is not enough and cannot be proven in court of law. He said Pakistan has denied presence of dreaded criminals like Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Chota Shakeel and Lakhbir Singh who are among the Indian nationals in the list. For Pakistani nationals, Pakistan has pointed to lack of extradition treaty and lack of evidence, he said. We have made 11 futile attempts with Pakistan to conclude an extradition treaty, he said. Pakistan has not responded positively to our proposals to conclude an extradition treaty, he said. We have been pressing Pakistan that it is in the interest of both countries that we enter into a treaty of extradition, Krishna said.