The Hindu : National : Not possible to provide helicopters without pilots, says India

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Tuesday, Oct 18, 2005

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Not possible to provide helicopters without pilots, says India

Diplomatic Correspondent

``Ready to undertake relief work on the Pakistan side of Line of Control''

NEW DELHI: New Delhi has reiterated its willingness to undertake relief work on the Pakistan side of the Line of Control (LoC) as some of the quake-hit villages are more accessible from the Indian side.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman said on Monday night that Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan called his counterpart Shyam Saran in the evening and conveyed that Islamabad was willing to receive helicopters from India but without Indian pilots and crews. "In his reply, Foreign Secretary Shri Shyam Saran conveyed to his Pakistan counterpart that it would not be possible for India to provide helicopters which are in service with its armed forces without pilots and crews," the spokesman said.

"Concerning helicopter sorties being flown by the Pakistani side to points close to the LoC, the Foreign Secretary [Shyam Saran] conveyed that these can be undertaken but information concerning the proposed sorties should be communicated as early as possible to the DGMO on the Indian side," he added.

`LoC should be softened'

B.Muralidhar Reddy reports from Islamabad:

Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir Prime Minister Sikandar Hayat has said the border on the Line of Control (LoC) should be softened and that there should be free flow of people and goods. Mr. Hayat said he would take up the matter with the Pakistani leadership.

In response to a question, Mr. Aslam said Pakistan was accepting relief assistance from India. "Relief goods from India are already arriving in Pakistan and we appreciate this assistance. In order to meet the acute shortage of winterised tents, Pakistan's High Commissioner in New Delhi had been asked to arrange procurement of this item from India on an urgent basis.

"Regarding the question of helicopters that was the subject of comments in the media, Pakistan was also willing to accept helicopters from India if these were offered without pilots. Given the obvious sensitivities, we could not accept the Indian offer."

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