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Pakistan afraid of people-to-people link: Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has said Pakistan had spurned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's offer of greater people-to-people interaction, as this would expose its propaganda against India.

Abdullah was referring to a series of measures that Vajpayee had announced on the eve of the India-Pakistan summit at Agra this month. He made these remarks while addressing a function in Srinagar.

Some of the proposed measures like opening border check posts and easing visa rules as well as allowing traffic on the Srinagar-Rawalpindi and Jammu-Sialkot roads had rekindled hopes in the state's people, many of whom have close relatives in Pakistan.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had scoffed at the confidence building measures, saying the primary CBM between the countries was the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Abdullah said Pakistan's resistance to any interaction between the people of the two countries "stems from the fear that Islamabad will be exposed when the reality dawns on their people".

"Pakistan's scare is obvious. It has been feeding the people with malicious propaganda against India," he said.

Pakistani media, both electronic and print, shows India as an "aggressor" in Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Army as an "occupying force committing brutalities on the Muslim population."

Abdullah, who has always advocated cross-border interaction among the people, said: "Reopening of the Rawalpindi road will help people know each other better and also usher in a new era of social exchange that will give a fillip to economic activity."

Indo-Asian News Service

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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