Islamabad had earlier accused India of arming and training separatists in Balochistan. But this time around, New Delhi is being charged with helping the Taliban.
India is astounded by Pakistan’s latest accusation that New Delhi is aiding the Taliban in its fight against the Pakistan army. Islamabad has promised to take up the issue with India diplomatically. So far, nothing has been done.
Islamabad had earlier accused India of arming and training separatists in Balochistan. But this time around, New Delhi is being charged with helping the Taliban, a group which has always been opposed to India. The hijacking of an Indian plane from Kathmandu to Kandhar took place at a time when the Taliban was in power in Kabul. The Pakistan wing of the movement is no friend of India. Its former chief, Baitullah Mehsud, had said after the Mumbai terror attacks, when there were fears in Islamabad that New Delhi would declare war, that it was willing to fight side by side with the Pakistan army against India.
External affairs minister SM Krishna dismissed the allegations, saying there was “total confusion in Pakistan and there is no effective government in control”. “We have absolutely nothing to do with whatever is happening in Balochistan or Pakistan. I think it is their own making,” the minister said on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s information minster Qamar Zaman Kaira and military spokesperson major-general Athar Abbas told reporters on Monday that India was involved in South Waziristan where Pakistani ground forces were engaged in fighting the Tehriki-Taliban.
Abbas said Indian arms and ammunition, literature, medical equipment and medicines had been recovered from the Sherawangi area near Kaniguram. He said the matter would be taken up with Indian authorities through diplomatic channels, Dawn reported.
Senior officials in the Indian government said the allegations were for the consumption of Pakistan’s domestic audience. They said there was also an attempt to take the spotlight away from the fact that the Taliban is a creation of the Pakistan army. During US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Pakistan, she was repeatedly told of India's interference in Balochistan.
At the heart of the allegations about Indian involvement in Pakistan’s messy war, is the military’s unhappiness about India’s growing popularity in Afghanistan where New Delhi has four consulates: Kandhar, Jalalabad, Mazar e sharif and Heart, besides the embassy in Kabul. Pakistan wants New Delhi to roll back the consulates. By pointing an accusing finger at India, the military believe they will be able to get the Americans to agree with their view. The ISI was involved in the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul last year.
The attempt to again target the embassy this year failed, but New Delhi believes that the ISI had a hand in the attempt.
Meanwhile, India congratulated president Hamid Karzai on Tuesday on his election and promised to work with the Afghan government for the reconstruction of the country. “The international community needs to reiterate its long-term commitment to ensure security and development in Afghanistan, and to oppose the challenge posed by the Al Qaeda and the Taliban,” India said in a statement.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}