Govt denies PM’s `remark’ on Kashmir

NEW DELHI, Mar 1: India today described as incorrect a comment attributed to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore last week.Media reports from Islamabad had quoted Sharif as saying that Vajpayee had commented `you are right’, Sharif stated that Kashmiris should decide on their right to self-determination.

“Vajpayee never made such a comment. Our information is that Sharif also never attributed such a comment to Vajpayee at the function in Islamabad yesterday”, an official spokesman said. Sharif, meanwhile, reiterated his country’s `earnest desire for tension-free good neighbourly relations between the two countries.

Sharif conveyed this in a message to Vajpayee while overflying India on his way to Bangladesh. “I would like to convey my sincere greetings and best wishes. I was delighted to welcome you to Pakistan and I hope you enjoyed your stay at Lahore”. Earlier, the Congress sought a clarification from the Prime Minister if he hadagreed with his Pakistani counterpart for `self determination’ in Jammu and Kashmir as a solution to the vexed problem.