|
|
|
| Sunday, 26 June 2005 |
 |
|
 |
World |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
India says 'No' to Pakistan Minister NEW DELHI, June 25 - India Friday said it had rejected a request by Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid for permission to travel to Indian-administered Kashmir on the new trans-Kashmir bus service next week. "The government of India has processed the application and has declined permission, taking into account all aspects," foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a media briefing here. Reacting, Rashid said in Islamabad he was "shocked" at the refusal, saying the visit would have helped peace moves. "I am surprised and shocked. I think it will hurt the feelings of my relatives in Kashmir," Rashid, the government's public face in the media, told AFP. "My visit would have bolstered the peace process between Pakistan and India. I remain committed to the peace process between the two countries. I will continue to support it," he added. The minister has been at the centre of a controversy since a leading separatist earlier this month praised his help during the early days of the Islamic militancy which exploded in the divided state in 1989. Rashid, a Kashmiri, had said he wanted to cross on the next run of the bus service on June 30 to visit relatives in Indian Kashmir. He would have been the first senior Islamabad official to make the trip. Senior separatist leader Yasin Malik, one of several moderate separatists who made a historic visit to Pakistan early in June, stunned an audience in Islamabad by thanking Rashid for helping militants cross the Line of Control - the ceasefire line dividing the Pakistani and Indian zones of Kashmir - in the early 1990s. An embarrassed Rashid quickly issued a denial, and Malik, on his return, said he was misquoted by a Pakistani newspaper. But India termed the comments a "matter of grave concern". India has often accused Pakistan of aiding militancy in Kashmir by organising training camps in its zone. Pakistan has denied any direct involvement in the militancy but has said it gives them moral and diplomatic support. It has pledged as part of the peace process to stop militants crossing into India. On Thursday, Indian junior Home Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had expressed his doubts over Rashid's visit. |
|
|||||||||
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
