'Pak would respond if provided evidence on hate content'

Pakistan would respond if evidence is provided to it on allegations that elements based on its soil uploaded inflammatory content on Internet linked to Assam violence, a Pakistani Parliamentarian said today.

"I think the evidence is yet to be seen and I don't think that even the Indian media has seen it. If evidence is given to the Pakistan Government, it will respond," Pakistan's Member of National Assembly Khurram Dastgir Khan said here.

He was addressing a joint press conference at the 4th round round of dialogue between Indian and Pakistani Parliamentarians.

Khan was asked to react on Indian Home Secretary R K Singh's allegations that the MHA has identified over 100 websites on which false and morphed images were posted from Pakistan to incite people in India and create communal tension.

The Pakistani leader said that "if the hate mails are generated or not generated (in Pakistan), it emphasises the reasons why we here in India as we are here to create a positive atmosphere."

He termed the monitoring of the Internet by the two governments as "technical challenge".

Asked about the issue of Hindus from Pakistan crossing over to India, Khan said, "As far as we know, no Pakistani Hindu has so far applied for political asylum (here). The Government is dealing with it and the Supreme Court has also taken note of it."

He steered clear of questions on the possibility of release of Sarabjit Singh, Indian convict who is on death row in Pakistani, saying all these issues could be dealt only by the officials there.

Asked if the issues of terrorism were discussed at the meeting, MPs from both the countries said the two countries were "not trying to brush anything under the carpet but focusing on building a relationship based on the positives."

Asked what has been the achievement of the dialogue between the MPs, Yashwant Sinha said in the third meeting of the two sides, a number of recommendations on improving trade and economic ties were made and those could be seen in the recent developments in these areas between the two sides.

Members from the Pakistani side said the "dialogue blocks the opportunists from derailing" the engagement between the two countries.

Sinha said in the next meeting, the two sides have decided to take up the critical issue of water over which certain disputes have emerged in recent times.

From the Indian side MPs including Yashwant Sinha, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Naresh Gujaral, Satyavrat Chaturvedi were present whereas the Pakistani side included Sabir Ali Baloch, Deputy Chairman of Senate of Pakistan, Haji Muhammed Adeel, Chairman of Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Around 10 MPs from the Pakistani side have come for the fourth round of dialogue between the two sides. They would be visiting Patna tomorrow on the invitation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.