Islamabad denies firing

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 18. Pakistan has denied India's charge of firing by its troops in the Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir early today, and maintained that New Delhi could be making it up to cover up the ``embarrassment over detection'' of movement of its forces along the LoC and the International Border.

``There was no firing from our side,'' a spokesman of the Pakistan army said. Pakistan and India often exchanged fire on the ``working boundary'' because of a dispute on fencing, but no Pakistani forces were firing in that area on Thursday. ``The dispute in this area is that India wants to fence it, which is against the international law. There were paramilitary forces deployed in the sector.''

At the regular press briefing, the Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan, said the situation on the Line of Control was calm. ``The situation was more or less calm except for exchange of light machine gun fire across the working boundary and the LoC. The factual position is that since yesterday the situation has been more or less calm.''

Mr. Khan said Pakistan continued to observe the policy of maximum restraint on the LoC. ``As regards reports from India about heavy shelling and intensive exchange of fire, we do not know why these statements which are not borne out of the situation are being made. May be to cover up the embarrassment of the Indian feelings because the detection by the U.S. of the moves that they have made day before yesterday and yesterday.''

If India had any other design, the Pakistan army was fully prepared to meet any eventuality. ``If India is preparing for war, it would be madness. It is ours as well the effort of the international community to reduce tension with India. This is what the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, stressed during his visit here''.

Asked about India's demand that terrorists hiding in Pakistan be handed over to it, the spokesman said he could not figure out what terrorists New Delhi was talking about. ``Pakistan is in the forefront in the fight against terrorism and in the past it had co-operated with the United Kingdom and countries in West Asia in handing over identified terrorists. The Indian claims do not appear to be based on facts''.

Mr. Khan reiterated that Kashmir was the central issue to normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan, and expressed the hope that sooner or later New Delhi would respond to the invitation for resumption of dialogue. Gen. Pervez Musharraf had extended an invitation to Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Mr. Jaswant Singh to visit Pakistan to carry forward the dialogue process.

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