Pakistani protesters burn Indian flag, PM's effigy

CHAMAN, Pakistan: Hundreds of Pakistani protesters on Friday burnt an Indian flag and an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, underscoring mounting tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Tribal elders, politicians and residents attended the anti-India rally in the southwestern town of Chaman, in Baluchistan province on the border with Afghanistan.

"India wants to steal our water in Kashmir, and that is why it is piling pressure on Pakistan following the attacks in Mumbai," local politician Naseer Ahmed Bacha Khan told the protesters in Chaman.

India and Pakistan each govern part of disputed Kashmir but claim it in full. Pakistan has charged that India is building dams in the Himalayan region in violation of a 1960s water sharing accord brokered by the World Bank.



Khan said that the Pakistani people had been angered by India's alleged recent violations of Pakistani airspace, which prompted Islamabad to summon India's deputy ambassador on Thursday to lodge a formal complaint.

India said Tuesday that the peace process with Pakistan was on hold, but reiterated it was not preparing for war.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi expressed confidence Wednesday that the dialogue between the nuclear-armed South Asian states would resume.