Pakistani leader urge Pakistan government to take up Indian Army chief Kapoor's statement with UN

* PML-Q leader says Gen Kapoor should be sacked if quote not New Delhi’s stance

* Calls for unity, integrity in the region

Staff Report, The Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed on Monday asked the government to take up Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor’s statement with the United Nations, which he said “jeopardises the security of the South Asian region”.

“Pakistan today is faced with international conspiracies and Gen Kapoor’s irresponsible statement is part of a vicious plot which has jeopardised the security of the entire (South Asian) region. The Pakistan government, through the Foreign Office, should take up the issue with the Indian government, enquiring whether this statement was a part of Indian government’s policy. If so, this issue should be taken up at the UN and if the Indian government does not endorse it, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should immediately sack Kapoor for putting the security of the entire region at risk,” the PML-Q leader told a press conference at the PML House. Mushahid said Gen Kapoor’s “irresponsible statement had sent ripples across the country” as well as China and reflected nefarious Indian designs, which are threatening regional peace. He demanded the Indian government clarify whether the statement by Gen Kapoor was his own view or represented the government’s official stance. “It is the height of irresponsibility that Indian Army chief Gen Kapoor, out of the blue, talked of waging a war of aggression against two peaceful neighbours, Pakistan and China. Pakistan should take up the issue with the UN Security Council so the whole world knows who stands for peace and who is against regional peace. Such a statement is tantamount to distracting from the common enemy of terrorism,” Mushahid added. He said the entire nation was supporting the armed forces against any threats and rejected the Indian army chief’s statement.

Mushahid called for national unity and integrity at such a crucial juncture and asked the government to convene an All-Parties Conference to devise a unanimous strategy to face Indian threats.

Rejecting the idea of any threat to the democratic system, he said there was no conflict between government institutions.

“Let me make it clear once again that there is no threat to the democratic government. However, it is equally necessary for some ministers to stop making irresponsible statements, which might create further misunderstandings. The government should do something practically for resolving the issues faced by the people rather than making controversial speeches against the judiciary and Pakistan’s armed forces,” Mushahid added.

He termed the attack on Karachi’s Ashura procession “part of a well-conceived plot” against the country, saying the conspiracy was aimed at creating sectarian conflicts in the city. However, he said the masses, traders and religious scholars were united and had foiled the vicious plan. Calling for a judicial commission to investigate the attack, Mushahid said a Supreme Court judge should head the commission to expose the real culprits.

Gen. Kapoor has also been dragged into controversy over his statement on Nepal Maoists’ Peoples Liberation Army’s integration into Nepal’s national army. Gen. Kapoor had said that Maoist ex-combatants should not be integrated into Nepal’s national army. (Including from The Daily Times)