Pakistan’s flip-flop on Balochistan continues

NEW DELHI: Pakistan went back to targeting India over Balochistan with Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani accusing India of interfering in Pakistan through Afghanistan.

Mr Gilani claimed that he had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop New Delhi’s involvement in backing terror and that the Sharm el Sheikh joint statement illustrated this point.

“Fact was brought to notice in writing with the joint statement issued after my meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Sharm el Sheikh,” he was quoted as saying in a Pakistani newspaper.

Mr Gilani further claimed that he had asked his Indian counterpart to stop New Delhi’s involvement in backing terrorist activities.

But his remarks also show the disconnect within the Pakistani government. Mr Gilani’s remarks comes after the Pakistani foreign ministry said there was not enough evidence to back the claim of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said evidence against New Delhi was not enough and that more evidence is needed to ‘plausibly argue’ that India is involved in insurgency activities inside Pakistan.

But Mr Gilani maintianed that there was evidence and that it was up to the Pakistani government and military to decide when the evidence would be disclosed.

“As far as the evidence is concerned, it is the government and military’s prerogative to decide when and where provide them,” he added.

The Pakistani prime minister also pushed for the resumption of the composite dialogue process and said that the US and the international community should help revive the peace process.