The Hindu : Putting India, Pak. at par not acceptable, says Sinha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2003

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Putting India, Pak. at par not acceptable, says Sinha

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI MARCH 29. The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, told The Hindu that he did not find the equating of India with Pakistan by the U.S., on the Kashmir issue, acceptable. Asked whether Pakistan remained a "hyphen" when it came to U.S.-U.K. relations with India, he said: "We wouldn't like the hyphen to be there. And, whenever we have raised it with the U.S. and the U.K, they have come out publicly... that their relationship with India is not hyphenated with the India-Pakistan relationship. I would say that holds, by and large, except when it directly relates to Jammu and Kashmir. There they tend to put India and Pakistan at par, which again is unjust and... not acceptable to us because it's like putting the victim and assailant at par," he said, adding that other countries also tended to do the same.

"...if Pakistan did not have a role in this (Nadimarg) carnage... then dialogue with Pakistan in this particular case does not make sense. If Pakistan is not responsible, then why talk to Pakistan," he said about a recent American statement urging dialogue between India and Pakistan. "If Pakistan has a role, then that role should call for its condemnation, especially from a country which decided to go to war against a country for the avowed purpose, howsoever weak that case may be, to fight terrorism and protect its citizens. That's why we responded by saying that if dialogue was the solution for all such situations, then a dialogue with Iraq was also called for. I am glad that position has been corrected by their subsequent statement."

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