Benazir in India to sabotage SAARC moot: Rashid

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday said Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s visit to India was aimed at sabotaging the forthcoming SAARC summit in Islamabad.

“The visit comes at a time when both countries are in the process of normalising relations and attempts to damage the cause of the SAARC summit,” he told journalists.

He said Ms Bhutto never wanted to improve the relations between India and Pakistan.

He said the PPP chairperson was visiting India to attend a seminar on the fall of Dhaka, which was proof of her negative approach toward the country. He added she had put the country’s honour at stake. He rejected Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s suggestion to open borders and have a single currency, saying this could never be possible because Pakistan was a sovereign state. “It is an attempt to divert the world’s attention away from the real issues,” he added.

He reiterated that Pakistan wanted relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and would not compromise its honour, dignity and solidarity. He warned that India should refrain from fencing the Line of Control because it was a violation of the UN charter and bilateral agreements between the two countries. —APP

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