ISLAMBABAD: Pakistan Tuesday ruled out Indian allegation regarding involvement of its spy agency in Mumbai terror plot saying such charges could escalate tension between the two countries, and urged India to unveil facts rather than practicing a blame game.
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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that India used Mumbai terrorist attacks for its political ambitions against Pakistan.
Talking to visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher who called on him at President House here Monday, President Zardari said Pakistan praised the efforts of United States for restoration of peace in the region.
President also conferred “Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam” on US Assistant Secretary of State in appreciation of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Pakistan and United States.
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Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that peace talks could be held with rebel groups only if they laid down arms first has evoked angry reactions, with pro-talk militant factions in Assam terming the precondition as unacceptable.
“The Prime Minister’s precondition of first laying down weapons and then beginning peace talks is unrealistic and hence not acceptable to us,” Jiten Dutta, senior leader of the pro-talk faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), said.
Manmohan Singh on Saturday told reporters in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong that the Central government was ready to begin peace talks only if the militants first surrender their weapons.
“The precondition of laying down arms first would scare away all those revolutionary groups who were interested in joining the peace process,” Dutta said.
Leaders of the pro-talk ULFA faction last week announced giving up their demand for sovereignty or independence and instead decided to harp on the theme of greater autonomy for Assam.
Two potent striking units of the ULFA’s 28th battalion, the Alpha and the Charlie companies, in June last year declared a unilateral ceasefire and evinced interest to hold peace talks.
“How can there be separate yardsticks for holding peace talks by the central government? If talks can be held with groups like the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) without any of them laying down arms, why should there be a separate rule for talks with other groups,” Dutta asked.
The pro-talk ULFA faction has threatened to resume an armed rebellion if New Delhi delays the peace process by not holding talks with them.
“We would be forced to take up arms and wage an armed revolution for our cause,” Dutta said.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has recommended to the Central government not to extend the ceasefire with the NDFB, blamed for the October 30 serial bombings in the state.
“We have asked the Central government not to extend the ceasefire and now it is up to New Delhi,” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.
The ceasefire with the NDFB expired December 31 and the truce is still under a cloud with NDFB leaders and Home Ministry officials holding talks in New Delhi, although no formal extension agreement has been reached.
GAZA: Tens of thousands of Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in Gaza early on Monday amid tank, artillery and air strikes, as the death toll from the offensive passed 510.
Israeli forces moved into the fringes of Gaza City as families fled or hid on the second night of combat.
The Israeli government fought off intense international pressure over its biggest military operation since its 2006 war in Lebanon, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy due in the region, as well as Russian and EU delegations.
At least 70 Palestinians have been killed since the ground offensive began on Saturday night, Gaza medics said.
Israel said one soldier was killed by a mortar shell and another 19 were wounded, bringing the total to 49 since the beginning of the incursion.
Columns of troops and tanks surrounded Gaza City and fighting was reported in outer districts.
Witnesses said tanks had cut off Gaza City and the far north from the rest of the strip, which would prevent the entry of arms, supplies and fighters from the south.
The warplanes were also bombing targets in the southern border town of Rafah, where hundreds of tunnels are used to smuggle in supplies from Egypt.
Fierce clashes were also reported around the northern towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanun and Jabaliya.
Moawiya Hassanein, head of Gaza medical emergency services, told a news agency the number of Palestinians killed since the Israeli operation was launched on December 27 was now 512, including 87 children.
Five members of the same family died when a tank shell hit their car near Gaza City, emergency services said. Three ambulance workers were killed when they were hit by a missile as they helped wounded victims of the conflict, medics said.
Aid groups said the offensive had aggravated a humanitarian crisis for the population, who have no electricity, no water and now face dire food shortages. Hospitals were only running on backup generators.
International efforts to halt the conflict sought new impetus after the UN Security Council failed to agree a statement on the conflict, with the United States giving strong backing to Israel.
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