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India Rebuffs Pakistan on Kashmir Talks
NEW YORK (AP) - India rejected Pakistanâs invitation Wednesday to negotiate a settlement concerning the disputed province of Kashmir, just hours after Pakistanâs president broached the idea in an address to the U.N. General Assembly. India Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha called Kashmir an ``inalienable part of Indiaââ that nobody can take away. "Weâll give up Kashmir when the French surrender Alsace ... oh. Let me re-phrase that!" ``What is Pakistanâs right to talk about Jammu-Kashmir?ââ Sinha said to applause from Indian-American students at Columbia University. "Donât make me talk about your moustache, Perv!" Earlier Wednesday, Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf invited New Delhi ``to join Pakistan in a sustained dialogue to resolve the Kashmir dispute.ââ In his speech, Musharraf also accused India of ``suppress(ing) the legitimate struggleââ of Kashmiris and violating their human rights. I think the Indians only violate the rights of the ones with rifles and hand grenades at the ready. Sinha and India Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke to students about economic development in India. Vajpayee was not present when Sinha spoke about Kashmir. Earlier this week, India proposed that both countries add staff to their respective embassies as a step toward normalizing relations. The two countries recently restored ambassadors in each otherâs capitals. India recently accused Pakistan of being involved in car bombings in Bombay last month that killed 53 people and wounded more than 150. India also blames Pakistan for a December 2001 attack by Islamic militants on Indiaâs Parliament which took both countries to the brink of war. Pakistan denies involvement in both attacks. "We know nothing! Nothing!" Posted by: Steve White 2003-09-25 |
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