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Pak takes a dig at Reddy

Source:PTI
August 28, 2007 17:00 IST

Pakistan has termed "conjecture" the statement of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy that terrorists based in that country could be behind the recent Hyderabad blasts.

Islamabad condemned the twin-blasts as also those who commit or sponsor such terror acts.

"I have not seen any Indian official statement. These statements are attributed to some chief minister. I don't want to comment on conjectures," Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters  when referred to Reddy's remarks.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said terrorists based in Pakistan and Bangladesh were key suspects in the blasts that left over 40 lives.

"These are terrorist attacks and we condemn them. We are ourselves victim of terrorism and committed to fighting terrorism," Aslam said, adding, "it is always better to investigate rather than to speculate."

The comments came amid suspicion among intelligence agencies in India that Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad terror groups could be responsible for the blasts.

Commenting on the fate of the Indo-Pak anti-terror mechanism, Aslam said no schedule had been finalised yet about its second meeting.

The mechanism, set up in January to discuss terrorism issues between the two countries, held its first meeting in March and was to meet again after three months.

"Once Pakistan's new additional secretary is in place, then perhaps he or his Indian counterpart can get in touch and mutually decide the meeting dates," she said.

The mechanism is jointly headed by additional secretary-level officers of the foreign ministries of the two countries. Tariq Osman Haider, who represented Pakistan in the mechanism, has retired and Islamabad is yet to decide who will replace him.

Reacting to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath's statement that India was awaiting Pakistan's response on the proposals on trade, Aslam said the talks between the two sides on Kashmir were moving in the right direction.

"I think there have been some discussions and we believe that we are moving in the right direction for opening up the Line of Control for trade for Kashmiris on both sides as well as the truck service," she said.

On the prospects of a resolution on the Siachen issue, the spokesperson said Pakistan wanted an early solution to the dispute, but this clearly needed political will.

"This is a long-standing dispute and now it is also causing environmental concerns. We believe that we have made proposals for a possible solution. Both sides are discussing

them, which shows that they (Indians) are interested. But political will is needed (to resolve the issue)," she said.

Source: PTI
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