India rejects Pak charges of funding Taliban

India on Monday rejected the charge that it was fomenting unrest in Pakistan by funding Taliban fighters based along the border with Afghanistan.

"I reject it. I think we want Taliban and Talibanism to be totally eliminated," said External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

Krishna was reacting to Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik's allegation that India was fomenting unrest within Pakistan through steps such as funding Taliban fighters based along the border with Afghanistan.

Malik said he was "convinced" India is among "certain hostile agencies" that are backing the Taliban to create instability in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor also reacted to Malik's allegations and said that Pakistan has not provided any evidence to back its claim.

"They have had plenty of opportunities to meet Indian officials and so far we have not seen any evidence. Quite recently they have met, the two foreign ministers at the General Assembly in New York," he told an Indian television news channel in New York.

"The prime minister of Pakistan has met senior Indian officials. I don't think that if there is any such evidence it should have been kept in some secret", he said.