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Talk of N-hazards in Kashmir clashes
[DAWN] A federal minister sought on Monday to draw world attention to the dangers of nuclear rivalry between Pakistan and India as lawmakers in the National Assembly, across party lines, blamed India for the recent spate of cross-border clashes along the disputed Jammu and Kashmir.But the Minister for States and Frontier Regions, retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, stressed that he was not making a threat after he said countries possessing nuclear capability would ânot keep it merely in cold storageâ but could use it âin time of needâ. However, he promised a âmatching responseâ to what he called Indiaâs âaggressive policyâ while opening the debate on a motion moved by Kashmir Affairs Minister Chaudhry Birjees Tahir over what was described as indiscriminate Indian firing and shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing the Jammu and Kashmir and what is called working boundary between Indian-held Jammu and Pakistanâs Sialkot and Narowal districts. The series of clashes, which have so far claimed more than 20 civilian lives, 13 on the Pakistani side, since early this month, have been some of the most serious violations of a 2003 ceasefire between the two sides. Mr Baloch, who said he had served along the LoC for seven years while in the army, accused India of seeking to complicate matters and incite Pakistan, but said this âserious situationâ could not be mtade an excuse for war. Posted by: Fred 2014-10-22 |
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