India not a victim of terror says Kasuri

Pakistan said yesterday that India was not a victim of terrorism as being propagated by its leaders to win the sympathy of the Western nations, but was a perpetuator of "state terrorism" in the disputed region of Kashmir.

"India is not a victim. India is oppressing Kashmiris and indulging in the worst kind of state terrorism," in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, Foreign Minister Mian Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told a press conference in this port city.

"India is trying to take advantage of the atmosphere created" in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist strikes in the United States, he said. But no similarities exist between the two cases, he said.

India has accused Pakistan of not fulfilling its commitments of stopping infiltration of militants from the Pakistani side of Kashmir into the territory administered by it where more than a dozen groups have launched a bloody secessionist war.

But Pakistan yesterday brushed aside the Indian allegations, blaming it of resorting organised "state terrorism".

"There can only be peace when there is justice in South Asia and Kashmir," Kasuri said. "There can be no settlement unless the Kashmiris are satisfied," he said.

Both India and Pakistan control parts of Kashmir and lay claim on the region in its entirety. The two nations have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947. Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority state of Hindu-dominated India.

Islamabad demands a vote in Kashmir in line with the UN resolutions to determine whether Kashmiris want to stay with India or join Pakistan. New Delhi rejects the proposal and calls Kashmir its integral part.

Kasuri said Pakistan wants to improve relations with India, but was not prepared to accept its hegemony in the region. "We are prepared to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with India on Kashmir and on other outstanding issues," he said.

He said Pakistan was ready for talks with India to break the deadlock. But Indian leadership was accelerating "tensions by issuing provocative statements", he said.

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leaders want to keep relations tense with Pakistan and target Indian Muslims "for its domestic compulsions", he said.

"They think there is a premium in keeping tensions with Pakistan and targeting Muslims in India. The BJP wants to replicate events of Gujarat" to win elections, he alleged.

"Pakistan alone cannot improve relations with India," he said. He said South Asia was unable to exploit its economic potential and fight poverty because of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The international community should play its role in lowering tensions between the two rivals, he said. The United States should engaged itself in South Asia, he urged saying that India triggered the nuclear arms race in the region.

Also Kasuri said Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution of Iraq situation through the UN Security council. "We want that sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq should be preserved," he said.

"Iraq must comply with the UN Security Council resolutions and must fully cooperate with inspectors," he said promising that Pakistan would abide by the decision of the UN Security council in respect of Iraq and all other issues.