By IANS
New Delhi : Pakistan has denied that there has been any increase in infiltration across the border into India due to the domestic instability following the declaration of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said that he strongly refuted the statement by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan fearing increase in infiltration of terror elements because of Pakistan’s interior turmoil.
In an interview to senior journalist Karan Thapar broadcast on CNBC TV18 channel Tuesday night, Kasuri also said that back channel talks were continuing between India and Pakistan despite the domestic political problems, describing it as “considerable progress”.
But he termed the failure of India and Pakistan to reach an understanding over Siachen as “a lost opportunity”.
On the move by the Commonwealth to give Pakistan 10 days to avoid suspension, Kasuri hoped that Pakistan is not suspended. But he added that if the multilateral organisation decided in favour of suspension, the Commonwealth would be “the loser”.
Kasuri, a close Musharraf loyalist, claimed that the emergency would not affect the elections, which would have “proper campaigning”. The Pakistan president has announced that parliamentary elections would be held by Jan 9, but did not give indications on when the emergency would be lifted.