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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan terms TharoorÂ’s remarks unwarranted |
| 2009-07-24 |
| Pakistan said on Friday that remarks by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor about a purported dossier on the alleged Indian hand in the insurgency in Balochistan were “unwarranted and inconsistent with diplomatic norms.” Mr. Tharoor had rubbished Pakistani allegations of Indian involvement in its restive province as “preposterous” and said, “deflecting responsibilities for things that are happening in the dysfunctioning of the State to their neighbours who have conducted themselves very differently is [not] a very healthy practice.” The Pakistan foreign office in a statement said that “the insinuations made by Mr. Tharoor were unwarranted and inconsistent with diplomatic norms” and called on “both sides [to] refrain from remarks that detract from the progress made in Sharm-el-Sheikh.” The fresh war of words was triggered by a report in the Dawn newspaper that Pakistan had handed over a dossier detailing Indian “subversive” activities in Balochistan and in the tribal areas to India during the meeting of the two Prime Ministers at Sharm-el Sheikh. While India has strongly denied that any such dossier was given to it, Pakistan has deliberately chosen to remain vague on the issue, neither denying nor confirming if Prime Minister Gilani gave the claimed dossier to his Indian counterpart. However, a senior official has told The Hindu that Pakistan has not given any dossier or information on Balochistan. |
| Posted by:john frum |