Can't bomb Iraq and tell us to talk to Pak, India tells US
Press Trust of India Posted online: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 1954 hours IST
New Delhi, March 25: India on Tuesday countered the renewed call by the US for resumption of talks with Pakistan, asking why military action was resorted to against Iraq and Afghanistan instead of dialogue to resolve the crisis confronting the two countries. "If dialogue per se is more critical than combating international terrorism with all necessary means, then one can legitimately ask why both in Afghanistan and Iraq military action instead of dialogue has been resorted to," External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters.
He was asked about remarks made by US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher in Washington that "violence will not solve Kashmir's problems. Dialogue remains a critical element in the normalization of relations between India and Pakistan."
The MEA spokesman said "we see the call for dialogue by the US State Department spokesman as inappropriate in the context of the heinous terrorist crime in J and K." He said "it regrettably shifts the focus from the basic problem between India and Pakistan. The problem is not lack of dialogue but continued sponsorship of terrorism by Pakistan which is being overlooked."
Boucher had earlier said "the cowardly attack appears aimed at disrupting the bold efforts of the Kashmir state government led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to restore peace and religious harmony to the troubled state".
