“These are terrorist attacks and we condemn them. We are ourselves victims of terrorism and remain committed to fight terrorism. It is always better to investigate rather than to speculate,” the media reported on Tuesday, quoting Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam as saying here.
Pakistan also termed as “conjecture” the statement of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy that terrorists based in that country could be behind the recent Hyderabad blasts.
“I have not seen any Indian official statement. These statements are attributed to some Chief Minister... I do not want to comment on conjectures,” Ms Aslam said.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister had said that terrorists based in Pakistan and Bangladesh were suspected to be behind the Saturday’s blasts that claimed lives of over 40 people and injured several others.
Her comments came amidst suspicion among intelligence agencies in India that Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad terror groups could be responsible for the blasts.
Commenting on the fate of anti-terror mechanism between Pakistan and India, which was to be discussed every three months, Aslam said no schedule for the bilateral meeting had been finalised yet.
“Once Pakistan’s new Additional Secretary is in place, then perhaps he or his Indian counterpart can get in touch and mutually decide the meeting dates,” she said.
Reacting to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath’s statement that New Delhi was awaiting Pakistan’s response on the proposals made on trade across the Line of Control, Aslam said the talks between the two sides on Kashmir were moving in the right direction.
“I think there have been some discussions and we believe that we are moving in the right direction for opening up the Line of Control for trade for Kashmiris on both sides as well as the truck service,” she was quoted as saying.
Siachen issue
On the prospects of a resolution on the Siachen issue, the spokesperson said Pakistan wanted an early solution to the dispute but this clearly needed political will.
“This is a long-standing dispute and now it is also causing environmental concerns,” she said.
We believe that we have made proposals for a possible solution. Both sides are discussing them, which shows that they (Indians) are interested. But political will is needed (to resolve the issue), the spokesperson added.