The Hindu : Pak. proposal on LoC impractical, says India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003

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Pak. proposal on LoC impractical, says India

New Delhi April 28. India today rejected as "self- serving and impractical" Pakistan's proposal for international monitors on the issue of cross-border infiltration and said there was the expectation of a "new approach" and a "new language" from Islamabad following the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent statements.

"This is not the first time we have heard Pakistan talk about international monitors. We have heard this before. But such self-serving and impractical proposals were intended to internationalise the issue and bring in third parties and have been rejected before by India," an External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters here.

"However, following our Prime Minister's statements, there is an expectation of new approach, a new language. We have seen the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's statement that response would be coming in two to three days. We would rather wait for that," he said.

While welcoming India's hand of friendship, Mr. Jamali had told reporters in Lahore that, "our response would be made public within two or three days". His Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who was also in Lahore said India should not attach any pre-condition to resuming talks.

On the infiltration issue, he said Pakistan was ready to appoint foreign observers including from the U.N. — PTI

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