The Hindu : Front Page : Ready to send relief material but our engineers cannot go: Pranab

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005

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Ready to send relief material but our engineers cannot go: Pranab

Special Correspondent

Hard problems and ground realities will have to be recognised

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NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday offered material to help Pakistan rebuild its earthquake-affected areas but dismissed the probability of its engineers going over to the other side as "romanticism''.

Speaking to newspersons here, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee denied that the proposal for setting up relief camps at three designated points on the Line of Control was deferred.

"In those limited points which have been earmarked, they can come and can get treated. They can also have relief material.'' On Monday, the Director-General of Military Operations discussed the issue with his Pakistani counterpart, who said that as the communications infrastructure was devastated, not many people could come [to the relief centres on the LoC]. "So let us see,'' Mr. Mukherjee said.

Asked about the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's offer of opening five points on the LoC, Mr. Mukherjee said three were agreed upon and the other two were being considered. Mr. Mukherjee said India was ready to help Pakistan in all respects. On the military side, "it is not expected and neither they will agree, nor it will be desirable on our part to reconstruct their military establishment site, bunkers and others. And in those areas these are the most important construction activities.''

India could begin construction activity immediately but it was the Military Engineering Services, which would have to operate in PoK. "If they cannot take helicopters with military pilots how do you expect to allow our MES people to go and construct? There is no room of romanticism in these matters.''

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