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Pak. troubled by rhetoric of liberal Indian leaders: Kasuri

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Feb. 18. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, has said that he is ``deeply troubled by the anti-Pakistan rhetoric of seemingly liberal Indian leaders'' and appealed to forces in the civil society in Pakistan and India to pressure their Governments to resolve their differences amicably.

In an interview to the Dawn, Mr. Kasuri expressed the optimism that ultimately Pakistan and India would resolve their disputes peacefully. He felt troubled by the Indian leaders' ``rhetoric,'' he told the daily adding that the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, had also joined the league. And that his statement that talks with Pakistan were out of question did not behove Foreign Ministers.

Mr. Kasuri is considered to a ``soft-liner.'' In his very first interview after assuming office in November last, he said that ``normalisation of relations'' with India would be the "number one priority" of the Mir Zafarullah Jamali Government. However, critics have questioned the possibility of his charting an independent policy, particularly on India, in a set-up dominated by the military. It is being pointed out that one of the factors responsible for the ouster of the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, was his desire to reach out to India beyond the ``agreeable framework.''

Mr. Kasuri said that the "anti-talks'' statements, emanating from persons such as Mr. Sinha, "sophisticated" bureaucrat-turned-politician, and the "secular and socialist" leader, George Fernandes, pointed to a troubled situation in India, where even seemingly liberal people were compelled to say "provocative'' things. He felt that top Indian leaders were ruling out bilateral talks because of their ``internal political compulsions.''

However, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), ruling combine in Pakistan, faced no such compulsions and was convinced that all outstanding issues could be resolved through a composite dialogue.

Mr. Kasuri believed that poverty was the major problem in the subcontinent, which could not be effectively tackled unless tensions between the two nuclear neighbours were defused.

Maintaining that it was ironical for New Delhi to claim that fundamentalist forces were on the rise in Pakistan, he said had it been so, Islamabad would have been under pressure to stay away from the negotiating table. But his country had repeatedly stressed the need for initiating a dialogue to resolve all the outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

On the possibility of resuming air, road and railway links between the two countries, Mr. Kasuri alleged that India was responsible for the "rupture."

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