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Islamabad rejects charge
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, FEB. 11. Pakistan today rejected the Indian allegation that Aftab Ansari, accused in the attack on the American Center in Kolkata, had links with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Responding to the observations made by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Sunday, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, told a news conference here that it had become a habit for New Delhi to make such allegations.
``They keep making such accusations. One can take those accusations seriously if they are accompanied by evidence,'' he said. Asked whether the recent statements by the U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, offering his services to mediate on the Kashmir issue indicated increased U.N. interest, Mr. Khan said Pakistan welcomed Mr. Annan's statements over Kashmir and hoped that the U.N. would play a role in resolving the issue.
Asked about the significance of the recent defence agreement signed between Pakistan and the U.S. on `Acquisition and Cross-Servicing', the spokesman said it represented normalisation of friendly relations between the two countries.
``The relations were always good. But in between there were some misunderstandings. Now they are going back to what they used to be,'' he said. The agreement would enable the two countries to cooperate during military exercises, training, deployment, operations or other joint efforts.
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