India, Balochistan raised with Holbrooke

WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke says Pakistan has offered no credible evidence of Indian involvement in its troubled Balochistan, a published report said.

Holbrooke, who last week visited Pakistan, was asked if his hosts raised the issue of alleged Indian involvement in the province, Dawn, Pakistan leading English daily, reported Friday.

"I would be misleading, if I said it didn't come up," Holbrooke was quoted as saying.

On whether Pakistan provided any evidence to support its charge, the special envoy was quoted as saying, "The narrow answer to your question is no."

The issue has become a major controversy in India after Balochistan was mentioned in a joint statement signed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani this month in Egypt.

The brief reference in the statement said, "Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas."

However, some Indian media and opposition leaders say Singh committed a foreign policy blunder by agreeing to include Balochistan, with which they say India has no connection, in the statement -- thus allowing Pakistan to exploit it to reinforce its claim on Kashmir.

Singh has defended Balochistan's inclusion, saying he received no dossier from Pakistan on any Indian involvement.

The Dawn report said Holbrooke refused to discuss Kashmir, saying the issue was outside his area of responsibility.

India's Economic Times described Holbrooke's comment as Pakistan's first rebuff of its efforts to internationalize the Balochistan issue.