Miliband endorses Pak's root-cause theorists

NEW DELHI: British foreign secretary David Miliband has endorsed the line of Pakistan and the root-cause theorists that Kashmir was the chief cause of jihadi terrorism directed against India.

The foreign secretary, who is currently on a visit to India, wrote in an article in The Guardian that "resolving the dispute will deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arms and allow Pakistani authorities to focus more effectively on tackling the threat on their western borders."

The formulation that delinks terror facing India from the terror facing the rest of the world backs the Pakistan���s view that "grievance over Kashmir" is the cause for terrorism. Pakistan is also inclined to accept third-party negotiation in the issue.

India reacted sharply to the article by saying that it did not need unsolicited advise from the diplomat. ���Mr Miliband is entitled to his views, which are clearly his own and are evolving. India is a free country and, even if we do not share his view, he is free to express them. However, we do not need unsolicited advice on internal issues in India like J&K," a statement from the MEA said.