Singh's 'remark an excuse to delay talks'

Islamabad: Questions raised by India's prime minister about the control of the Pakistani army and Pakistan's aims in Afghanistan are an excuse for delaying the resumption of talks, Pakistan's foreign minister said yesterday.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told CNN International television on Sunday he was not clear if Pakistan's president was in control of the army and that Pakistan's objectives in Afghanistan were not necessarily those of the US.

In the interview coinciding with a US visit, Singh also said he was worried about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the wrong hands and complained that Islamabad had not brought to justice perpetrators of last year's Mumbai attack.

"I am disappointed," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi told Reuters. "My feeling is India is dragging its feet and is looking for excuses to not resume the composite dialogue."

The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since 1947 and nearly went to war a fourth time in 2002, after a militant attack on India's parliament.

The United States wants the rivals to reduce tension and resume dialogue on a range of issues from trade to the disputed Kashmir region so Pakistan can focus on the war against the Taliban and Al Qaida on its Afghan border.

India suspended a five-year-old peace process that included broad talks known as the composite dialogue with its neighbour after the Mumbai attacks in November last year.

Pakistan has acknowledged that the Mumbai assault was plotted and partly launched from its soil and is prosecuting seven suspects in a closed-door hearing.

Qureshi said that showed Pakistan's seriousness in dealing with those behind the Mumbai attack.