01 March 2005	Tuesday	19 Muharram 1426

ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Pakistan on Monday expressed dismay at the recent reassertion by Indian President Abdul Kalam about the alleged cross-border infiltration from Pakistan at a time when composite dialogue between the two countries was under way.

Answering questions at his weekly news briefing, foreign office spokesman Masood A. Khan said he wished such allegations at the highest level were deleted while the two sides were earnestly engaged in confidence building.

About the increase in Indian military budget, he said it was not a 'helpful' decision as the two countries had held useful, wide-ranging talks during External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's recent visit to Islamabad and agreed to start senior-level negotiations on issues of security and stability and towards maintaining equilibrium in conventional arms, nuclear capability and several other important matters and CBMs.

The spokesman expressed understanding of India's inability to start the Kashmir bus service on the agreed date of April 7 due to some natural and unavoidable difficulties, which, he said, could be discussed between the two countries.

He said trilateral talks for the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, according to latest indications from New Delhi, were soon to begin and there was no plausible reason for India to bypass Islamabad which had pledged to ensure a regular supply and security of pipeline.

However, he pointed out, the three countries had also been having bilateral consultations to discuss mutual issues but that should not cause apprehensions. He said New Delhi had apparently cleared the decks paving the way to open discussions among the three stakeholders to cover all aspects of the project, including technicalities, transportation and other issues about the operation of the proposed pipeline.

In reply to questions about the possible American supply of anti-missile Patriot system to India, the spokesman said the induction of the sophisticated military capability into South Asia would be inadvisable in the interest of both India and Pakistan as it might trigger a more expensive arms race. But, he maintained, it would not erode Pakistan's military capability to counter the anti-missile system.

Mr Khan said Islamabad was in talks with the US administration about its legitimate defence requirements and believed that as these discussions were pursued, Washington was getting more sensitive and more attentive to Pakistan's needs. The spokesman, however, would not go into their specifics.

He said that the top item on the agenda of President Pervez Musharraf's talks next month with the leaders of three Central Asian states would be to upgrade bilateral relations to a level where they could deal with subjects of global importance. He said the talks would be of great significance. At this stage, he said, the issue of gas pipeline from Central Asia was not among priority items.

He said that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan would represent the country at the forthcoming international anti-terrorism conference in Madrid because the president would not be able to attend it due to his pre-arranged engagements.

APP ADDS: The spokesman reiterated that Pakistan would not allow foreigners to operate from its soil against terrorists, saying it was the exclusive jurisdiction and responsibility of Pakistani security forces.

He said that Pakistan as a partner in the war against terrorism had been sharing intelligence with the United States. "But as for as operations (against terrorists inside Pakistan) are concerned it is purely the responsibility of the Pakistani security agencies and there is no other agency involved in the operation," he added.

He was asked to comment on a 'US Congressional report' published in a section of the press claiming that CIA agents were working inside Pakistan on private contracts to trace Osama bin Laden. "No CIA operatives are hunting for Osama (in Pakistan)," he said.