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Indian plane hijack incident India trying to deflect internal pressure by

blaming Pakistan: CE

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has said that India has launched a vilification campaign against Pakistan to deflect attention from its internal problems.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday Gen Pervez Musharraf said: "It is very sad that Vajpayee has made this statement because right through this incident, we have played a very positive role. We have tried to assist on humanitarian grounds to resolve the (hijacking) issue as amicably as possible."

The Chief Executive said he personally thought that India should have thanked Pakistan for its role in this whole incident.

"But unfortunately this did not happen. But I am not surprised because whenever there is an internal pressure in India, she has very conveniently tried to release the pressure by blaming Pakistan and getting Pakistan involved adversely or negatively."

In the hijacking case also, the Chief Executive said, the Indians are trying to concentrate their efforts on the international community to declare us a terrorist state. "But this is far from the truth. I would like to add that initially I had a suspicion that may be there is a bigger game to this hijack incident.

"Now that this statement (from Vajpayee) has come, this bigger game gets a little confirmed that they probably had an intention of maligning Pakistan right from the beginning and that is what they are trying to do".

Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the hijackers are not in Pakistan and Indian propaganda in this behalf is baseless.

To a question, he said that a decision on CTBT will be taken in the light of national consensus. "I have said several times that CTBT will not be signed unless we develop a national consensus".

He said a debate will be carried out in the press, in the media and on television. "We will see what Pakistan needs and what is in Pakistan's interest. Then only we will decide on our response to the signing of CTBT. There is no such thing as signing the CTBT impulsively without taking the nation into confidence.

Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Tuesday said Indian nefarious attempts to isolate Pakistan from the mainstream of international opinion will not succeed.

Talking to reporters after attending a panel discussion on CTBT, he said, the Indian government has not produced a shred of evidence in favour of its accusations that the hijackers were Pakistanis.

"On the contrary, Indian airlines itself said that no Pakistani national was aboard flight IC-814," he added.

India has not given Pakistan, or to the world anything more than names. "How does a name identify a nationality," Sattar questioned.

"The statement that has been made by the Indian Prime Minister exposes the Indian desire to isolate Pakistan in the world community," he said and added, "Pakistan will never succumb to the designs of India."

He reiterated that Pakistan would remain a part of the mainstream of international opinion.

He said, Pakistan has acted throughout the hijacking of Indian plane in accordance with the international civil aviation organisation conventions.

"Pakistan has fulfilled its duty and responsibilities as it ensured the safety of the passengers and the crew and for that the government of India should have thanked us," Sattar added.

He regretted that India was trying to go back on what it had stated and was trying to implicate Pakistan falsely in the hijacking episode, adding they would not succeed in their venture. APP