The Hindu : Musharraf's remarks "rubbish'': Sinha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 23, 2003

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International - India & World

Musharraf's remarks "rubbish'': Sinha

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON SEPT. 22. The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, has dismissed as "absolutely rubbish'' the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's reported remarks that India was playing a dangerous game in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Mr. Sinha told the BBC that it was a case of "pot calling the kettle black''. "India's reaction is that this (the allegation) is absolutely rubbish because India is not playing a dangerous game anywhere. If anybody is doing such a thing, it is Pakistan. By levelling such an allegation, Pakistan is only trying to prove the saying — pot calling the kettle black,'' he said.

Asked to comment on Gen. Musharraf's remarks in an interview to Toronto Star that Indian consulates in Jalalabad and Kandahar were being used to foment trouble in Pakistan, Mr. Sinha said these consulates had been there for a long time but were closed down by the Taliban regime.

"After this regime came to an end, these consulates were re-opened. We are doing a lot for the Government and people of Afghanistan and, in these efforts, the two consulates have a major role,'' he said, adding that the Afghanistan Government had not complained about "anything''.

Mr. Sinha said that no third country — in this case Pakistan — had any right to "interfere and try to destabilise the bilateral relations between India and Afghanistan''.

The Minister, who was answering questions on BBC's Hindi programme "Aap ki Baat, BBC ke Saath'' from New York, called for patience when it was put to him that there had been "little or almost no progress'' in normalising India-Pakistan relations since the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, extended the hand of friendship five months ago.

"I do not agree with this. I have been saying that do not get impatient when it comes to relations between India and Pakistan. There are complex issues and serious problems involved and it will take time to solve them — therefore, saying that it has been four, five, six months is not right. We cannot count in terms of days and months... There has been definite progress and, in future, more progress is expected,'' he said enumerating the steps that had been taken to normalise relations such as restoring full diplomatic relations, resuming the bus service and an increase in people-to-people contact.

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Musharraf's remarks "rubbish'': Sinha