January 8, 2006

New Delhi

India Rejects

Musharraf's Remarks on Balochistan
 

India Saturday dismissed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's charge of supporting insurgency in Balochistan as "utterly baseless".

"I categorically reject these allegation as utterly baseless," said external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna in a late night briefing to reporters on remarks made by Musharraf to journalist Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN news channel.

Sarna was reacting to Musharraf's accusations that India was providing financial support to rebels in Balochistan and his terming of New Delhi's critical comments on the situation in the gas-rich province as a "direct interference in the internal affairs" of his country.

"It (allegation over Balochistan) should not be a setback to the process of dialogue on resolution of disputes. I am not only disappointed but annoyed," Musharraf told Thapar in the interview that will be broadcast Sunday.

"But I controlled (myself) and did not give any comments. Now that you are asking, definitely it is a direct interference in our internal affairs," Musharraf said.

New Delhi had condemned "spiralling violence" in Balochistan and advised Islamabad to use "restraint" in dealing with the Baloch people.

"The government of India has been watching with concern the spiralling violence in Balochistan and the heavy military action, including the use of helicopter gunships and jet fighters by the government of Pakistan to quell it," Sarna had said on Dec 27.

Asked whether he had sufficient evidence to back his allegations about Indian support to the ethnic insurgency in Balochistan, Musharraf said he had "reasonable amount of evidence but I would not like to get involved in it".

"...lot of indications, yes indeed, such as financial support, support in kind being given to those who are anti-government and anti-me. People who are anti-nationals," he stressed.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and chief minister of the province Jam Muhammad Yusuf had accused India of providing moral and material support to the insurgency in Balochistan.

Alluding to New Delhi's adverse remarks on aerial bombings targeted at people of Balochistan, Musharraf said: "We had dozens of opportunities to do the same in India. We did not. But we will not accept any interference or any comments in our internal affairs. In a way it shows that probably there is disappointment because there may be involvement from the other side".

Meanwhile, the US-based World Sindhi Institute (WSI) has condemned military operation in Balochistan and called for an independent human rights investigation into it.

"The Pakistan security forces have been carrying out attacks in the Kohlu and Dera Bugti districts of Balochistan using helicopter gunships and fighter jets," the WSI said, and charged that over 100 people, including innocent women and children, have been killed due to this violence.

Sindhis of Sindh, in southeastern Pakistan.