US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher has said that Pakistan is not involved at all in supporting terrorist acts in India.
"It is the considered opinion of Washington that based on the information available with it that government of Pakistan is not involved at all in supporting terrorist acts in India," Boucher who was on a visit to India (August 4-8), had told a select gathering of Muslim representatives here, according to Indian Daily 'The Asian Age'.
The US state department official's remarks came in response to questions posed by his guests about Pakistan alleged role in terrorist acts like the July 11 Mumbai serial blasts.
Boucher's visit to India has since concluded (August 4 to 8) and he is now touring the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The categorical response was made to a gathering during question-answer session that included, among others, Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Professor Mushirul Hasan, Rashid Alvi (Congress), Arif Mohammad Khan (BJP) and Wajahat Habibullah.
According to Rashid Alvi, the US official showed an interest in understanding the Indian Muslims' opinion about the US. "During the 30-odd minute meeting, he tried to know about the Indian Muslims and minority issues," he recounted on Wednesday evening.
Professor Mushirul Hasan, in turn, observed that Boucher discussed the "attempts to destabilise Lebanon" besides dwelling on issues like the invasion of Iraq, the presence of American troops in Iraq and the Palestine issue.
A few weeks ago, Boucher told reporters in Washington that there was no clinching evidence to pinpoint the perpetrators of the wave of deadly attacks in Mumbai. Boucher had a similar interaction with Muslim intellectuals and religious scholars in Bangladesh.
He spent two days in Dhaka before travelling to Kolkata and New Delhi. In Bangladesh, he met Imams at the Imam Training Academy and sought their opinion on global issues like terrorism and militancy.
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