Pak FO launches diatribe over “ISI-obsessed India’s rhetoric and blame game”

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has once again blamed India for playing a blame game over their bilateral disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir.

Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in which he expressed New Delhi’s readiness for dialogue with Islamabad to resolve all bilateral issues, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit alleged that there was a marked difference between what “the Indians say and what they do,” the Daily Times reported.

“Had not this been the case the two countries would have been able to normalise relations by settling bilateral disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir,” he stated, adding that he hoped New Delhi would “bridge the gap” between its words and deeds.

Addressing the weekly briefing at the Foreign Office, Basit went on to say, “Dialogue doesn’t mean that we sit across the table and reiterate our respective positions… Pakistan wants a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue process and it will welcome if India moves beyond its rhetoric and blame game, but there is nothing on the ground to inspire hope.”

The spokesman also said that Indian armed forces had been killing innocent people in the Kashmir valley.

Regarding the Indian Defence Minister’s remarks about the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and its involvement in different incidents in India, Basit said, “Unfortunately India seems to be obsessed with the ISI and loses its capacity to be objective.”

India should shun its tendency of accusing the ISI for all its problems, including the Naxalite insurgency, which is spread over a large number of Indian districts, he added. (ANI)