The Hindu : A fallout of Gujarat riots: Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 28, 2002

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A fallout of Gujarat riots: Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Sept. 27.

The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, today asserted that the terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar on Tuesday was a "fallout" of the killings of thousands of Muslims in the Gujarat riots, even as the Pakistan Foreign Office dubbed the charges of Pakistani involvement in the attack as a "bunch of lies".

In an informal talk with reporters here after a function, Gen. Musharraf said India should "put its own house in order" before pointing fingers at others for the terrorist attacks in the country.

On the reported decision of the Indian armed forces to cancel the leave of officers, Gen. Musharraf said he did not foresee a war with India. However, he asserted that the Pakistani forces were prepared for any eventuality.

To a question on the Indian allegations about Pakistan's involvement in the temple attack, he said that "it is a misperception. They should not blame us because what is happening in Gujarat is the fallout of killing of thousands of Muslims there. India should put its own house in order instead of mudslinging and blaming Pakistan. Their internal affairs are not in order and need to be corrected''.

On the execution of seven Christians working for a charity in Karachi on Wednesday, he said the Government was investigating the matter.

He did not rule out the hand of Indian intelligence agencies in the attack, but at the same time maintained that Pakistan, unlike India, would not jump to conclusions without proof.

Condemning the execution of the Christian workers, Gen. Musharraf said it was difficult to make any guess about who could be behind it at this juncture. "I could not say who could be behind it. It could be the Al-Qaeda, it could be sectarian elements or the RAW. We are examining it.'' So far, no arrests had been made in connection with the incident, he added.

Gen. Musharraf said he could not understand why such brutal acts were being committed against Christians. "It is madness if any Muslim thinks that it is a way of promoting Islam. Allah never pardons such acts.''

He said whoever was behind such acts was trying to "defame and malign'' Pakistan. Such acts had caused great damage to Pakistan's image. "Such ghastly tactics must never succeed and those involved must be brought to book and punished,'' he said.

In a related development, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, termed as a "bunch of lies", reports from India that all indicators pointed to the involvement of Pakistanis in the Gandhinagar temple attack.

He said that without even bothering to wait for the preliminary inquiry, India always tended to blame Pakistan for every incident in the country.

Mr. Khan wondered why those who were alleged to be Pakistanis in such incidents were never caught alive.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, said that the Government was investigating the killings of innocent Christians in Karachi along two lines. To apprehend the murderers and to `unearth a foreign hand' behind these terrorist acts that could not be ruled out.

He said Indian involvement could not be ruled out in the recent wave of terrorism in Pakistan and attacks on the Church showed that the perpetrators wanted to defame the country.

"We are investigating to get sound evidence of Indian involvement in acts of terrorism and would expose them at the international level,'' he told the reporters.

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