August 21, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 11,1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

NEW DELHI, Aug 20: India said on Tuesday that President Pervez Musharraf’s admission that militants may still be crossing into Indian Kashmir confirmed “our worst fears”.

“It is tantamount to saying that infiltration is still going on with the knowledge and cognizance of the Pakistani authorities,” Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told AFP.

She also ruled out any resumption of bilateral talks in the near future.

Rao was reacting to an AFP interview with Musharraf in which the he said there was still a possibility small groups of militants are crossing over into Indian-administered Kashmir.

Rao said this confirmed India’s “worst fears”.

“They had made pledges and promises with no intention of keeping them. We have always been sceptical but we were prepared to wait and see if he would deliver.

“But this seems to confirm our worst fears. We see no hope for resumption of dialogue.”

Rao said there would be no bilateral talks between the two ministers on the sidelines of the SAARC meeting in Kathmandu. “There will be no bilateral meeting between the two,” she said. —AFP