'US, India, Afghan responsible for terrorism in Pak'

Islamabad, Mar 3: Pakistan's caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz's statement that the United States, India and Afghanistan are responsible for the lawlessness and terrorism in Pakistan has led to the Embassy of the United States here to rebutt it in the strongest possible terms.

Reacting to it, the US Embassy described it as 'untrue'. The Daily Times further quoted the Embassy as saying that: "American Ambassador Anne W Patterson today telephoned Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz to express her grave concern over his remarks made in a television interview." In his interview with an Arab television channel,Nawaz had said that the United States, India and Afghanistan were involved in creating lawlessness in Pakistan and that it was believed that US and Afghanistan were backing militant outfits involved in terrorism in Pakistan.

Although India and Afghanistan have been blamed in the past for problems in Pakistan, it is for the first time that a government minister has directly pointed finger at Washingtonfor spreading lawlessness in Pakistan. The interior minister could not be reached for comments, the paper said.

ANI