Date:09/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/09/stories/2003040908171100.htm

Front Page

U.S. has warned India to restrain itself, says Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD APRIL 8. The Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, today asserted that there should be no "misunderstanding" on India's part about Pakistan's capability to defend itself in the context of the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha's comments that Pakistan was a "fit case for pre-emptive strikes".

Mr. Jamali's statement came even as his Government did the unusual by circulating a U.S. newspaper report containing the State Department's comments on Mr. Sinha's statement.

Replying to questions, Mr. Jamali maintained that the people and the armed forces of Pakistan were "fully capable of defending their country and no one should have any doubt about it".

Separately, the Press Information Department functioning under the Ministry of Information circulated a purported news report by the Washington Post containing the U.S. State Department's comments on Mr. Sinha's statement. "The U.S. has strongly condemned India's attempts to draw parallels between Iraq and the Kashmir situation and has warned India to restrain itself from using the U.S.-led pre-emptive war against Iraq as a pretext for an attack on Pakistan," it said.

The press release quoted the newspaper as saying that the State Department spokeswoman, Joanne Prokopowicz, responded to Mr. Sinha's comments stating "any attempts to draw parallels between the Iraq and Kashmir situations are wrong and are overwhelmed by the differences between them". Citing Iraq's 12-year refusal to disarm in the face of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, Ms. Prokopowicz said the circumstances that made military actions necessary in Iraq do not apply in the sub-continent and should not be considered a precedent. "The U.S. recognises the very serious nature of the situation in Kashmir... Our joint statement last week with the United Kingdom made clear our repugnance of the killings of innocents that have been taking place in Kashmir with alarming frequency."

Separately, the state-controlled Pakistan news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) in a report from Beijing claimed that China had opposed Indian threats of pre-emptive strikes against Pakistan. It said China had emphasised that India and Pakistan should sit together and resolve their disputes through peaceful means.

Raising the Indo-Pak. rhetoric to a new height, the Pakistan Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, today alleged that "India is the biggest terrorist state that has hidden weapons of mass destruction" with its neighbours. Addressing a public gathering in a town in Punjab province, he said that India had killed "countless Muslims" in Kashmir and Ahmedabad. He mentioned the destruction of the Babri mosque and the alleged murder of a number of Sikhs and the "destruction of Gurdwaras and burning alive of Christians and attack on churches". Mr. Rashid called on the Muslim countries to take cognisance of the "track record" of India and as a very first step stop importing workforce from India and sever trade links.