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Pakistan attacks Blackwill, Farooq

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD APRIL 28. Pakistan was today unusually harsh on the outgoing United States Ambassador to India, Robert Blakwill, and the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah.

The Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, launched a no-holds-barred attack against the two in response to specific questions at his regular press briefing.

When a journalist wanted his comments on Mr. Blackwill's decision to return to his academic career, Mr. Khan said that ``Kashmiris must be delighted at his impending departure''. To the surprise of journalists, he did not leave the subject at that. He accused Mr. Blackwill of ``all the time plugging the Indian line'' and charged that at times he was acting like the spokesman of the Indian External Affairs Ministry.

Islamabad has been uneasy with Mr. Blackwill, particularly after his blunt comments on cross-border infiltration. At one stage, the Foreign Office had complained to Washington that Mr. Blackwill was talking about affairs of a third country against the diplomatic etiquette.

Dr. Abdullah attracted the ire of the spokesman for different reasons. When a question was asked about the reported intention of Dr. Abdullah to lead a delegation of parliamentarians to Islamabad, the spokesman said that ``Dr. Abdullah's hands are soiled with the blood of the people of Kashmir. He should first apologise to Kashmiris, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference and then come as part of the delegation, led by the Hurriyat''.

Mr. Khan alleged that it was during Dr. Abdullah's regime there were maximum `atrocities' against the people of Kashmir. Islamabad has never liked Dr. Abdullah and he was always referred to as `puppet Chief Minister'. Pakistan, at some time, had an equation with Sheikh Abdullah, who had led a delegation to Pakistan for talks in the Sixties.

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