Pakistan must stop using terror as instrument of state policy Says India
NEW DELHI: Pakistan must stop using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, India said on Friday reacting to former President Pervez Musharraf’s comments that his country supported and trained terror groups like the LeT for fanning militancy in Kashmir in 1990s.
“Our position on this is very clear. Pakistan must stop using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and sooner Pakistan realises it, the faster the relations between India and Pakistan can progress,” Spokesperson in External Affairs Ministry Vikas Swarup said.
In deeply embarrassing remarks for Pakistan, the former military ruler in a recent interview had acknowledged that his country supported and trained terror groups like the LeT in 1990s for fanning militancy in Kashmir.
72-year-old Musharraf also asserted that terror leaders like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were Pakistan’s “heroes” but later became “villains”. Musharraf’s admissions come as India has been repeatedly stating that Pakistan has a hand in fanning militancy in India and harbouring terrorists for anti-India activities.
Asked about a boy Ramdan, reportedly to be a Pakistani whose case was similar to that of Geeta, the deaf and mute Indian girl who returned to India earlier, the spokesperson said there were some issues with the nationality of the boy, who is currently with an NGO in Bhopal.
Once Pakistan verifies his nationality, the decks would be cleared for his return to that country, he added.On Pakistan not being elected to the UNHCR due to the bad human rights record, the spokesperson refused to comment and merely said that the human right record in Pakistan is well known and it was not for him to comment.
