US sees no Indian involvement in Pearl kidnap
BOMBAY- US Deputy Treasury Secretary Kenneth Dam said on Monday the Indian government was not involved in the kidnapping of reporter Daniel Pearl.
“There is no reason to believe that the Indian government is involved,” Dam told reporters when asked to comment on allegations by Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf that Indian intelligence agencies could be involved in the kidnapping.
“But I would not be surprised that some terrorists from Indian soil contacted others in Pakistani soil.”
Dam is on a visit to India to strengthen co-operation between the two countries to combat terror financing.
Pearl, 38, a Wall Street Journal reporter, went missing in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Jan 23 as he attempted to make contact with extremist groups.
On Saturday, The Washington Post quoted Musharraf, who is on a visit to the United States, as saying Pearl’s kidnapping could have been orchestrated by the Indians.
Pakistani investigators have recently identified Sheikh Omar Saeed, a well-known extremist militant, as a chief suspect in the kidnapping.
Musharraf alleged that “indirect indications” suggest Saeed could have been acting in concert with India, the Post reported.
India and Pakistan are locked in a bitter dispute over the region of Kashmir.
Both countries have amassed troops along their common border, regularly trading fire since an attack on December 13 on the Indian parliament, which New Delhi alleges was the work of Pakistan-based militants.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:2/12/2002
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