KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee caused a sensation in the 13th summit conference of the Non-Aligned Movement by attacking President Pervez Musharraf by name here on Monday.
The original Vajpayee speech given to the media here did not contain any reference to President Musharraf. However, a revised version was circulated at the media centre.
In the speech — delivered after President Musharraf had spoken — the Indian prime minister referred to the president as “General Musharraf.” He attacked “his” (Musharraf’s) strange logic” about Kashmir and accused Pakistan of having “territorial designs” on India. Then he accused him of justifying terrorism.
Referring to President Musharraf’s reference to the root causes of terrorism, Mr Vajpayee talked about Pakistan’s internal problems and said, “Does he go into the root causes of sectarian terrorism in his country?”
Mr Vajpayee said “terrorists” had killed Kashmiris because they refused to provide food and shelter to them. “Yet, General Musharraf talks of an international humanitarian order.”
According to the UN protocol, a delegate raises his hand if he wants to exercise his right of reply. If he is allowed to do so, then the other delegate reserves the right to speak again. In large conferences of the kind under way in the Malaysian capital, replies and counter-replies would waste too much of the delegates’ times. So a written reply will be given to Mr Vajpayee’s attack on Tuesday.
Pakistani officials said the written reply will point out that Pakistan has no territorial designs on India, that Kashmir is a dispute and that India itself had taken the case to the UN.
According to the protocol in such conference, countries, not leaders, are criticized. By mentioning President Musharraf by name the Indian prime minister was guilty of what Pakistani officials said was “unstatesman-like behaviour.”
