India has no evil designs on Pakistan

New Delhi, August 12: The government has refuted the Pakistani allegation that India is making war preparations.

A spokesman of the Defence ministry said India had no territorial designs on Pakistan and its desire to normalise relations with that country were well-known.

In a five-page statement, the spokesman was replying to allegations made by Radio Pakistan and top Pakistani leaders that India was making war preparations.

The statement emphasised the persistent efforts made by India to normalise relations in accordance with the Tashkent Declaration and said the charge that India “wishes to dictate terms to Pakistan or to threaten Muslims in the Sub-Continent is not only absurd but also dangerous in that it seeks to excite communal tensions and disturb the peace in the Sub-continent.”

The spokesman said that Pakistan was maintaining an armed force more than half of India’s and had a defence budget which was also more than half of India’s despite the fact that its area was only about onefourth of India’s and its population about one-fifth of India’s. India, he pointed out, was threatened China.

The spokesman listed the steps taken by India to improve relations with Pakistan and said that, against this attitude. Pakistan’s policy of hostility could be judged from its continuing demands on Indian Territory, refusal to abjure the use of force, increasing of military preparations, interference in India’s internal affairs and persistent anti-Indian propaganda in various capitals of the world.