Search the Internet          Tips

Pak terms US report flawed,
attacks India on human rights

K J M Varma in Islamabad

Pakistan on Wednesday described the US State Department's report on global terrorism as flawed and attacked India for alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

Reacting to adverse references to Pakistan in the just released report 'Patterns of Global Terrorism 2000', Islamabad said it was flawed by glaring omissions and contradictions and included some unfounded allegations.

A Foreign Ministry statement in Islamabad said that the report "while acknowledging the co-operation extended by Pakistan to the United States, misinterpreted Pakistani people's sympathy for the Kashmiri people and Islamabad's policy of extending political, moral and diplomatic support to them."

The report "fails to take cognisance of Indian state terrorism in Kashmir," the statement added.

"The human rights violations committed by the Indian security forces were reported by human rights organisations including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom," it said.

"The government of Pakistan is opposed to terrorism in all its forms and is committed to carrying out its obligations arising from all ten international conventions on terrorism to which Islamabad is a party," it said.

The Foreign Ministry, the statement said, notes with satisfaction that the US report acknowledges Pakistan's commitment to carry out obligations arising from UN Security Council Resolution on Afghanistan.

"It is regrettable, however, that the report fails to take cognisance that this flawed resolution has in fact encouraged opposition factions in Afghanistan to obtain weapons for the resumption of fighting."

Pakistan also denied US allegations that it was backing Afghanistan's ruling Taleban with increased military assistance.

Earlier, reacting to the report, military spokesman and press secretary to General Pervez Musharraf Maj Gen Rashid Qureshi said: "This is a totally incorrect conclusion."

"I truly question the information and reasoning behind this. There seems to be a concerted effort by many Western countries to isolate Afghanistan further," he was quoted as saying by the Integrated Regional Information Network.

PTI

Tell us what you think of this report