Govt must rethink about Pranab's visit to Pakistan: BJP

New Delhi, Jan 9 (UNI) The BJP today asked the Government to rethink about the proposed visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Pakistan later this week, particularly in view of Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal's statement that ISI link had been found behind the killing of 66 Hindi-speaking people in Asom.

Mr Jaiswal had made the statement as head of the official team visiting the spots of killings allegedly carried out by ULFA and it could not be dismissed easily, BJP spokesman Ravi Shanker Prasad said.

He said the Minister of State for Home must have made the comment on basis of some inputs provided to him and in this scenario the Government should rethink whether Mr Mukherjee should undertake his visit to Islamabad to formally invite Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for the SAARC summit to be held in New Delhi in the first week of April.

Initially there was an impression that ULFA had done the gruesome killing of innocent people, mostly Hindi-speaking Bihari workers in Assam. But Mr Jaiswal's statement suggested that ULFA was used by the ISI agents to carry out the operation. "His statement has some substance and cannot be wished away," he said.

New Delhi must understand that ISI had established its widespread network in Bangladesh and was in a position to create disturbances in Indian states bordering Bangladesh.

It was high time that either the UPA Government must strongly remind Pakistan of the January 6, 2004 Joint Agreement signed by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Gen Musharraf that Pakistan would not abet terrorism or Mr Mukherjee's visit should be cancelled, Mr Prasad said.

He did not agree with a questioner that Mr Vajpayee had shaken hands with Gen Musharraf during the SAARC summit in Kathmandu when the relations between the two countries were sour. Nepal was a third country and no NDA minister was sent to Pakistan ahead of the meeting at that time, he said.

UNI