An eye-opener

Sir, - The interview by Ms. Malini Parthasarathy with General Pervez Musharraf (TheHindu, Jan. 17) was sensational, with questions on all issues which raised tensions between India and Pakistan in the recent past. He has adopted the typical Pakistani approach, not being clear and to the point in his replies. By insisting that the Kashmir issue be resolved first, the General has indirectly indicated inflexibility and unwillingness on the part of Pakistan to come to the negotiating table.

Despite clear evidence gathered and presented by India of the nationality of the Indian Airlines plane hijackers, the General pretends no knowledge of the subject and their whereabouts. His replies on the Kargil war and civil rule in Pakistan are none too convincing for India to believe that Islamabad is inclined towards friendly relations. The interview should be an eye-opener to the Indian Government, and New Delhi should stop talking about visits or relations and concentrate on maintaining vigil on the borders in order that the General voluntarily changes his stand over a period of time.

S. Raghavan,

Abu Dhabi

* * *

Sir, - Gen. Musharraf is cleverly hedging in his untenable arguments suppressio veri, suggestio falsi. The military ruler can neither feign innocence nor escape blame for the loss of lives in the Kargil war, all of his own making. He aims, tongue in cheek, at making the world believe that he is for peaceful bilateral talks and, in the same breath, discounts the Shimla and Lahore pacts as well as Track-II and other diplomatic parleys. He has been itching for a military solution to the disputes with India. Behind the back of the Nawaz Sharif Government, he inducted into our side of the LoC militants with the Pakistan army's back-up.

Now, Gen. Musharraf says in his interview to TheHindu that he does not know about the IA plane hijackers but their accomplices nabbed in Mumbai have confessed to the air pirates being Pakistanis. Also, immediately after the release of the hostages, the hijackers, along with the three terrorists freed from Indian jails, drove from Kandahar, in a vehicle provided by the Taliban towards the Pakistan border.

R. Sadagopan,

Chennai

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