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Omar blames Pak for attack on Raghunath temple
Union Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah has blamed Pakistan, though without naming it directly, for the terrorist attacks on Raghunath temple in Jammu and Kashmir on March 30 and ruled out pulling out troops from the border saying Islamabad had done nothing to warrant it.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah has blamed Pakistan, though without naming it directly, for the terrorist attacks on Raghunath temple in Jammu and Kashmir on March 30 and ruled out pulling out troops from the border saying Islamabad had done nothing to warrant it.
Slamming "forces from across the border" for the attack on the temple aimed at creating disaffection among the communities in the state, Abdullah said the "people of Jammu and Kashmir reacted with dignity and maturity" on the aftermath of the attack.
"We are no close to deescalation (along the border) than we were a month or two months ago" the minister said while briefing reporters about the talks he had in Tehran with president Mohammed Khatami during his visit as the prime minister's special envoy.
Abdullah said the state government had given tight security to the Raghunath temple as well as the Vaishno Devi temple, but suicide attacks by terrorists cannot be entirely prevented. He said Pakistan has not acted on India's request to extradite 20 most wanted criminals to India including gangster Dawood Ibrahim. besides, at the end of the winter when the snow melts in Kashmir, India will wait and watch if president Pervez Musharraf continues with the game of infiltration, and test the intent of his statements on peace with India.
Abdullah blasted the Hurriyat leaders for allegedly amassing huge funds in the name of Kashmiris and using it for personal purposes. He said India and Iran had common ground on Afghanistan and were considering to coordinate their efforts to rebuild the war ravaged country.
On Bush's terming of Iran as part of an axis of evil, he said, India did not take any cue from other countries in defining its relationship with any nation. "We judge each country according to the bilateral ties we have," he added.
Bureau Report
Abdullah said the state government had given tight security to the Raghunath temple as well as the Vaishno Devi temple, but suicide attacks by terrorists cannot be entirely prevented. He said Pakistan has not acted on India's request to extradite 20 most wanted criminals to India including gangster Dawood Ibrahim. besides, at the end of the winter when the snow melts in Kashmir, India will wait and watch if president Pervez Musharraf continues with the game of infiltration, and test the intent of his statements on peace with India.
Abdullah blasted the Hurriyat leaders for allegedly amassing huge funds in the name of Kashmiris and using it for personal purposes. He said India and Iran had common ground on Afghanistan and were considering to coordinate their efforts to rebuild the war ravaged country.
On Bush's terming of Iran as part of an axis of evil, he said, India did not take any cue from other countries in defining its relationship with any nation. "We judge each country according to the bilateral ties we have," he added.
Bureau Report