Raja Zafarul Haq of PML-N and Professor Khursheed Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami while terming the US Secretary of Defence statement as a part of a conspiracy against Pakistan said that on one hand US was claiming to be the partner of Pakistan and on the other it was issuing such serious statements. "In seven Indian states the people are fighting for freedom and recurrence of Mumbai-like incident is possible any time," Zafar added.
Analysing the statement of US Secretary Defence in the backdrop of a recent statement of Indian Army Chief Deepak Kapoor that India could deal with Pakistan and China at the same time, the Senator feared, recurrence of any misadventure would provide India an opportunity to act against Pakistan.
He said the United States has entered a civil nuclear technology transfer deal with India but was refusing Pakistani requests for a similar treatment from the US. The government should take this statement seriously and raise the issue with the US government, Zafar said.
He said Pakistan has already suffered a lot in terms of loss of lives and money in the US sponsored war against terrorism and issuing such statements by the US Defence Secretary will be of no service to our interests and sacrifices. Zafar said India and the Unites States are boosting co-operation in many fields and enjoying a strategic partnership and sharing common interests in the region. Professor Khursheed said, Mumbai attack was 'shameful and condemnable' and the Pakistan government had also condemned it.
He said even after one year, the Indian courts could not decide the matter and now even the Indian newspapers like 'Hindu' are reporting in their editorials that major actors of Mumbai attacks were Indians. He urged the government to convince the United States about the national interests and take serious notice of the US patronage of India.