File photo of foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. PHOTO: APP/FILE
Indian home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Wednesday that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was pressuring Sikh militant leaders to target Punjab and other parts of India.
"Pakistan rejects those remarks accusing us and implicating one of our government agencies for fomenting terror in Indian Punjab," said foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.
"Such a statement in our view is uncalled for and regrettable. We feel that making such statement has the potential of undermining the efforts made by both sides to normalise the relations between the two countries."
The Indian home minister had said that there had been "some significant development on the Sikh militancy front' and accused the ISI of seeking to further its "terror plans" in India.
Chaudhry urged Delhi to share any evidence it had of such involvement and said further accusations could harm already fragile ties.
Tens of thousands of people died in a separatist drive for a Sikh homeland which erupted early in the 1980s in Punjab, but the strength of the militancy has since waned.
COMMENTS (58)
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does not matter what anybody claims India has to live aside Pakistan & vice versa let the claim/rejection continue...
Friends from both India and Pakistan: This is possibly my last post on this article. Have you ever attended the postmortem of a dead body? If yes, did you ever observe any difference in the human anatomy between a Pakistani and an Indian, or for that matter between a Hindu and a Muslim? If your answer is that there was no difference, then why not bury the hatchet for ever and move on, if not for ourselves but at least for the sake of our future generations? If your answer is otherwise, I have nothing more to say on this any way.
@Murali Nair: Hats off to you Murali Sab , Reminds me of "Murali Prasad" MBBS ;)
@Asif Butt: Thank you Asif, I stand for universal humanity and love. Hope you too!
@Asif Butt: People who are used to TOI blogging may not appreciate the ET moderation. But if you visit "The Hindu" (It is a News Paper and the word does not denote any religion), or The Statesman or The Indian Express, you will see the same standards of ET moderation. People unfortunately get hooked over to sensational posting but responsible journalism demands that unwarranted comments are trashed. To that extent, I will put my hats off to ET, the way I do for The Hindu, The Statesman and The Indian Express. To end, let us as people bury the hatchet and move on either side of the fence. Let us be the friends and brothers that we once used to be. As for this article, if Gen. Kayani's method is to be true, there is a new Pakistan in the making, and I am waiting for that day! My personal guess is he is going to be the man who will be talked and remembered most in the Pakistani History Books in another 10 years time! There are incidents and occasions that are of political making where the ordinary man has nothing to do. We are ordinary people, not Shindes, not Maliks or Musharrafs or any other name from India too!. Let us remain that way as ordinary people and be happy to create a wonderful sub continent where our posts and comments talk of love, affection and universal humanity, instead of hatred in the name of geographical boundaries, religions, and et al. My heart is with the Pakistanis as much as with the Indians. Love and Regards, Murali Nair, Bangalore, India.
@Mohsin When you talk about some "propaganda" against poor Sikhs in India, think about those Sikhs who have been driven away from their homes by Taliban.
@Tabdeeli:
Well, there isn't much to loose. Especially when there's no argument to start with.
@Yuri Kondratyuk: This name of yours ? Russian ? Afghan ? Hindu ? Muslim ? I am assuming you are from this planet.
@Yuri Kondratyuk: When you loose arguments, You become Grammar Nazi.
@Asif Butt: Brilliant and well phrased retort Sir.
@Shahnawaz Evidence? Oh come on man you even rejected dead bodies of your solders in Kargill. Be courageous to say Right to right & wrong to wrong
@Yuri Kondratyuk: I dont know who made you the proctor here.
What you read was exactly what i had to say , and if what I have to say makes you think im wrong because it resembles some incomplete phrase then thats your twisted brains personal twisted problem.
So do yourself a favor and stop being over smart.
@Syed A. Mateen: "“Ministry of Allegations against Pakistan”. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ like the American Ministry of Allegations about OBL in Pakistan....ooops.....those allegations were true. I guess ppl who live in glass houses should not change clothes with their lights on.
@Lala Gee:
Sir, you seem to know things even Pakistani government itself couldn't figure out. Respect.
@Asif Butt:
You could start with using correct phrases!
@DrDung......something smells bad in what you have said. ;)
I think this is propaganda against the poor sikhs in India.
How about Indian support for the Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan? What purpose do so many Indian consulates in cities by the Durand Line serve? Nothing more than spying outfits.
Nothing new! Pakistan refused the existence of Osama, it refuses the existance of Dawood Ibrahim!
@Lala Gee: Please look up 26/11 on Wikipedia to see a complete list of the Pakistani terrorists and their hometowns in Pakistan!!! By the way, conduct and protocols of investigation attended by Indian officials in Pakistan was agreed upon ahead of time by both sides, and cross examination of Indian officials by Pakistanis (and cross examination of Pakistani officials by Indians) was not stipulated!
@comment writers stop crying like little children 'uska comment publish kiya, mera kyun nahi kiya?'
@Asif Yes, I am a liar.
It is not the lie, but WHO is telling the lie that matters. I am very insignificant, but these are politicians, elected by people, faith is imposed in them. Therefore, they need to serve the country better was the point I was making, rather than diverting attentions from the real issues. And don't allude to me as an outsider, I am part of the same south-eastern world, where our politicians do routinely lie. Won't you agree? In any case, no offense intended.
@Nauman: Switch on the TV.. Indians are all over you. Ignorance isn't bliss anymore.
@syed-u-mateen probably we would have it,but you should have "ministry of strategic assets".... those assets which make your country so prosperous and peaceful,so and so osl lived here without any hitch..
as for unemployment is concerned, we should definitely learn from you how to employ people in borrowing money from imf,us,saudi etc....
@anonymous:
In that sense EVERYONE is a liar.
Americans , Europeans , Russians etc etc.
In fact the West is ahead in lying. Global exploiters and conspirators. It is also full of multi-standard legislature with every unjust act termed as matter of national interest.
Indian / Pakistanis are just two different religious groups of the same nation divided, holding historic grudges of course.
So you kindly keep this "both are liars" logic of yours in your pocket.We dont need your lecture on lying.
Everyones a liar , and who knows , you may be the biggest liar ever to be.
Both are liars: one doesn't tell the complete truth, and the other in a state of denial. These are hollow statements from time-to-time for media-consumption, and to divert attention from domestic issues.
And even if a concrete-evidence was to be offered, a judge, scared for his life will most probably decline it. There were countless attacks in Pakistan on its own citizens -- but how many behind those were actually punished? Therefore, it is stupid to expect Pakistan to do much in this regard -- with or without an evidence.
Metaphorically speaking, you would be better served by blaming yourself after the robbery for leaving that door/window open, rather than engaging in a futile attempt to change the mind of thieves in the world to not steal. A lame comparison I agree for diplomatic-complexities, but has some truth in it that you could focus more and do better in the things/areas that you control.
There is no need to clarify Indian Government's allegations, as for the last 65 years India comes up allegations after allegations against Pakistan.
I would suggest to Indian Government that it should make a new Ministry within the Indian Government and it should be called as "Ministry of Allegations against Pakistan".
There are number of unemployed people in India and they can be absorbed and trained as how to level new allegations against Pakistan, so that "Ministry of Allegations against Pakistan" should win the best award of top performer among other Indian Ministries.
@Ram Ram:
Pakistan is also willing to reject that Hindus hate muslims , and more specially muslims who left them to make Pakistan.
And Pakistan is willing to reject this for the peace of sake.
Make most of it while you can , our days wont be the same you know.
@gp65: The url that you attached has no bearing on the subject being discussed.
Why thank you so much for educating me. What would i ever do with you ....
Pakistan "rejects" Osama bin laden is living in Pakistan.
Pakistan "rejects" it has any connection to terrorism anywhere in the world.
LOL
Indians - How about you let the air be little positive for some time. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif trying his best to mend ties and there your home minister throwing proof less accusations.
Do you with all honesty think Pakistan state have enough time to do such sort of things when are not even able to properly concentrate issues at home.
Stop with the hate and think about moving forward.
@V. C. Bhutaniv: Congrats. You're comment is on ET !!!
@Indian:
Dont worry dude. I do all this arguing and debating for fun. You know we got lots of quareling practices to do before the day the borders open. So make most of it , this is homework man ;)
@Asif Butt...I am with you as well bro. I can say without any doubt ET does not have any policy about comments but the policy of paper itself due to which most of the reasonable comments do not get published. If comments are in line with their overall policy then fine otherwise no way even if it is the most reasonable comment.
Friends in Pakistan: Indians are not as bad as these blogs suggest. We know we have a common heritage with Pakistan.
@V. C. Bhutani: Mr. Bhutani, you write as VC Bhutani, New Delhi India on Times Of India. Now you declare your destination as Edinburgh, London on ET! What is your agenda? I am an Indian and I cannot let this happen. I am a true Secularist Indian. How long will you go with this Mr. Bhutani? Kindly do not humiliate true Indians; this is an honest request from an Indian. And, please do not degrade yourself this much!
ET Mods : You will permit posts by Asif Butt where he attaches url with absolutely no bearing on the subject and yet you have refused to post my comments which are directly related to the newsitem and pretty factual too.
First of all Sushil kumar Shinde has as much credibility in India as Rehman Malik did in Pakistan. In other words - none. Having said that, I would like to make the following observations:
1) This same person's eqally irresponsible statement (which he had to later apologize for related to BJP running terror camps was received as gospel truth by Pakistani media and politicians.
2) While Shinde should not have made such a comment without offering proof, even when proof is offered, not much action against terrorism is taken is there? HAs Pakistan convicted any one on terrorism charges except for Afridi who co-operated with US in outing OBL despite losing 40,000 people to terrorism? There is a probleem with your laws of evidence and your own institutions have said so.
3) As much as Shinde should not make unsubstantiated statements, Pakistani leadership and media should also stop making unsubstantiated statements also about TTP being Indian agents and about India funding the Baloch insurgency.
@Asif Butt: The url that you attached has no bearing on the subject being discussed.
@Asif Butt: My view was that the Indian home minister should have made sure of his evidence before making his accusation against Pakistan. I added that if he did not have evidence or if he thought that his evidence should not be published, then he should have refrained from making that accusation. It seems this was too reasonable for The Express Tribune. But, of course, I respect editorial freedom. They may not allow this reply to appear. V. C. Bhutani, Edinburgh, 6 Jun 2013, 1711 GMT
It seems to be editorial policy of The Express Tribune to make sure that a comment by an Indian does not appear to be reasonable, so that Pakistani commenters can feel angry and write intemperately. Sarcasm is all right. But perhaps I should return to my old submission that in Pakistan there is no constituency for good relations with India, least of all The Express Tribune. You made sure that my first comment was not published because it was written in sober and reasonable tone. You published my second comment, which really said nothing. Perhaps you will publish this one too, because I am not saying anything here. V. C. Bhutani, Edinburgh, 6 Jun 2013, 1627 GMT
@V. C. Bhutani: ET moderation is strict for us Pakistanis too.
I might be the most fed up Pakistani with this issue.
Why dont you RE-PHRASE what you said , and I'm sure we can see how reasonable you claim you are.
lol... poor india... crying as always
Dear All, as an Indian I attach no significance to Shinde's remarks. First, Pakistan is just coming out of a lot of troubles and has absolutely no time for this kind of stuff. Second, Shinde has to make his mark; the failed Minister he any way is. All said and done, this news should neither have been published in the media of India or even Pakistan. This is utter nonsense of the 33rd degree that Shinde has spelled. Just forget this.
Is there any evidence? NO?. Then please cut the crap.. LOL
@ ALL INDIANS
What sort of place India is and what sort of bureaucracy / government India has , the world is seeing well this year.
How do you Indians justify the CORRUPT EDUCATION BODY , the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations .
How do you justify the news from the following link:-
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/College-boy-hacks-ICSE-ISC-results/Article1-1071714.aspx
I wonder how ....
@True Indian: Oh yeah. Whatever noise your minister makes from his mouth is fact according to Indian/Hindu law. We know. Therefore is an ever fact-full nation.
How can 7 comments come in "less than one minute ago"? I wrote mine at 1513 GMT. Before that there were no comments. Since then 18 minutes have passed. But ET was not pleased to publish it - perhaps because it was reasonable. V. C. Bhutani, Edinburgh, 6 Jun 2013, 1531 GMT
Hindustanis.....why are you trolling a Pakistani paper?
@A2Z: Nah, India is just not interested in peace with Pakistan, when it comes to China, India itself urges for dialogues.
Looks like found a way to relieve pressure from diplomat beatings.
@Polpot:
"what happened to the Mumbai attackers? In Pakistan no proof is proof enough."
Pakistani courts do not accept 'Police Reports' as conclusive proofs of crime, and perhaps neither Indian courts. Why India did not allow the lawyers of the accused to cross question the witness during the visit of Pakistan Judicial Commission, if there was not anything fishy to hide?
India just presents facts....it never expects Pakistan to accept it....moreover when Pakistan refuses to accept the dead bodies of it's own citizens, refuses to be human then how can one expect Pakistan to accept anything....
"Chaudhry urged Delhi to share any evidence it had of such involvement and said further accusations could harm already fragile ties." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Really? what happened to the Mumbai attackers? In Pakistan no proof is proof enough.
How old is the man running foreign affairs of India wrt Pakistan???? Must not be older than 8-9! I mean, seriously, plz grow up India..
nothing new.....they even rejected existence of osama.
so when shinde talks about hindu terrorism they accept it whole heartedly but when talked about pak spreading terror the same neglect....thats is y it is shining and becoming naya pakistan
India is not interested in peace. They issued this statement to destroy the goodwill generated by Nawaz Sharif's statements. Shame on Indians
Like always when Pakistan wants to make better relationship..Indians start opening the old points and start discussing...
Waiting till this news will be filled with Indian comments.!!!!!!!