The Hindu : Rocca mission 'a failure'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 17, 2002

International

International

Rocca mission 'a failure'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD MAY 16. A day after the "fire-fighting mission" of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, it is clear that the visit has not helped defuse tension between India and Pakistan.

On the contrary, the latest terrorist incident in Jammu has further raised the temperature and the relations between the two countries have touched a new low. This was evident today from a strongly-worded statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office in response to the charges made by the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, pointing fingers at the involvement of Islamabad in the attack.

The Foreign Office spokesman said Mr. Fernandes's claim was "irresponsible and reflective of the Indian mind set of constantly levelling baseless accusations against Pakistan" and took particular exception to Mr. Fernandes' reported insinuation against the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf. He said Pakistan could also accuse the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his Cabinet colleagues of "training fascist Hindu terrorists to kill and rape members of minority communities in India but would desist from doing so, in the interest of maintaining some dignity in the discourse between the two countries''.

Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and as a frontline member of the international coalition against terrorism bore the "brunt of the battle", he added.

The spokesman said that immediately on learning about the Jammu attack, the Government of Pakistan had condemned the civilian deaths and called for an "impartial inquiry to unmask the motives of its perpetrators".

Such baseless allegations (by India), before a proper investigation into the incident, strengthened the suspicion that the allegations and the threat of retaliation were part of an effort to divert attention from the ongoing genocide of Muslim minority community in Gujarat as well as the domestic difficulties being faced by the Indian Government.

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