Pakistan regrets Indian decision not to open Kashmir Line of Control

Islamabad (dpa) - Pakistan Thursday said it regretted the Indian decision not to allow people from across the Line of Control (LoC) to help tens of thousands of quake-hit people in its part of Kashmir.

''It is regrettable that Pakistan's proposal to open the LoC was not accepted by India,'' federal relief commissioner Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan told a press briefing in Islamabad.

President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday said he would allow Kashmiris from across the LoC to help their quake-affected relatives in Pakistan.

''They can come via the LoC (the demarcation line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan) and help in reconstruction,'' Musharraf had told reporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The 520-kilometre-long LoC is essentially a ceasefire line between the two parts of the Himalayan state and was opened to a fortnightly Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service on April 7 this year after more than four decades.

''It would have been very encouraging for the victims' family to see their loved ones from across the LoC in the time of extreme need,'' Khan said.

He said Pakistan would not like to accept any pre-conditions on the issue, adding ''we should refrain from scoring political mileage at this critical juncture when thousands of people need our help.''

Khan also ruled out joint relief efforts by Pakistani and Indian troops in the quake-ravaged areas, saying Pakistan's army is capable of providing relief to the thousands of people stranded in the areas devastated by the October 8 earthquake.

India had also offered its choppers for relief operations in Pakistan's devastated northern region and Kashmir, but Pakistan agreed only partially, saying it cannot allow Indian pilots to operate the choppers. dpa nj pmc