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| Delhi rejects Islamabad's allegations | | India has nothing to do in Balochistan: Mukherjee | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: The government of India has taken strong exception to the allegations by Pakistan against Indian intelligence agencies. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for External Affairs, on Thursday categorically denied that India was in any way involved in an "activities" in Pakistan's Balochistan proivince, as Islamabad has alleged.
Pranab Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question from Shobhana Bhartiya on the state of India-Pakistan relations: "I can state that neither any Indian agency or consulate is involved in any activities in Balochistan". And Mukherjee maintained: "In the past, Pakistan has raised objections to some of our consulates in Afghanistan, saying the level of trade does not justify this. We have said that we have a number of projects underway in Afghanistan and that the consulates are there because of these projects".
Pakistan had raised the issue of India's involvement in terrorism in Balochistan during the first meeting of the India-Pakistan joint anti-terror mechanism in Islamabad on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mukherjee said that Pakistan had been making allegations of Indian involvement and interference in Balochistan from time to time.
Pranab Mukherjee reiterated: "We are helping Afghanistan. I categorically deny any involvement of Indian embassy or Indian consulate in any way in Balochistan". He said that it had been decided to hold quarterly meetings of the joint anti-terror mechanism and exchange information on terrorism on a regular basis.
Mukherjee also informed the Rajya Sabha of the decision to set up a committee of retired judges to look into the complaints of families whose relatives are missing and suspected to be languishing in Pakistani jails for decades as PoWs. He said that it had been agreed to send a delegation of the families of the missing to Pakistan in April this year.
India and Pakistan last went to war in December 1971. The issue of missing persons was raised by Mukherjee in his meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri Jan 13 and 14 in Islamabad. Pakistan denied the existence of any POWs in its prisons.
The government of India had then suggested sending a delegation of the families of the missing, and Pakistan President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf, readily agreed. |
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