Islamabad, April 17: Pakistan on Tuesday rejected as "falsehood" the Indian charge of "attempts to incite Sikh pilgrims" to raise the issue of Khalistan.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammed Faisal "categorically rejected Indian allegations" in a series of tweets, a day after India summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over attempts being made to raise the Khalistan issue during the visit of Sikh pilgrims to that country.
"By spreading such falsehoods, India stokes the controversy regarding visit of Sikh pilgrims, attending the Baisakhi and Khalsa ceremonies in Pakistan," tweeted Faisal.
He said: "Pakistan welcomes Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from all over the world, including India. Pakistan has made arrangements to extend maximum facilitation to the visiting Sikh pilgrims during their visits to sacred places in Pakistan."
According to the Indian External Affairs Ministry, around 1,800 Sikh pilgrims have been travelling to Pakistan from April 12 under a bilateral agreement on facilitating visits to religious shrines.
India, on Sunday, protested to the Pakistan foreign office that visiting Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan were not allowed to meet the Indian high commissioner and other Indian diplomats. MEA said Indian diplomats were forced to turn back when they went to meet the pilgrims at the Punja Sahib gurudwara.
India called it "inexplicable diplomatic discourtesy", pointing out that this amounted to a "clear violation of the Vienna Convention of 1961, the bilateral Protocol to visit Religious Shrines, 1974 and the Code of Conduct (for the treatment of diplomatic/consular personnel in India and Pakistan) of 1992".
Faisal tweeted that Pakistn "remain committed to continuing such cooperation, which is in line with our religious ethos, traditions of hospitality, and provisions of the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. No amount of Indian propaganda could succeed in turning this right into a wrong," tweeted Faisal.
He further said that India "should respect international and inter-state norms, respect all religions, especially minorities, and refrain from indulging in pointless provocation which only vitiates an already charged environment to the detriment of all".
Pakistan categorically rejects Indian allegations of “attempts to incite Indian pilgrims” on the issue of ‘Khalistan.’ By spreading such falsehoods, India stokes the controversy regarding visit of Sikh pilgrims, attending the Baisakhi and Khalsa ceremonies in Pakistan 1/7
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) April 17, 2018
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Central Myanmar shaken by new quake in one of biggest aftershocks since March 28 temblor
Bangkok, Apr 13 (AP): A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Sunday morning near Meiktila, a small city in central Myanmar, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake came as Myanmar is engaged in relief efforts following a massive 7.7 magnitude temblor that also hit the country's central region on March 28.
The epicentre of the latest quake was roughly hallway between Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, which suffered enormous damage and casualties in last month's earthquake, and Naypyitaw, the capital, where several government offices were then damaged.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties caused by the new quake, one of the strongest of hundreds of aftershocks from the March 28 temblor. As of Friday, the death toll from that quake was 3,649, with 5,018 injured, according to Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar's military government.
Myanmar's Meteorological Department said Sunday's quake occurred in the area of Wundwin township, 97 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mandalay, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 7.7 km (4.8 miles).
Two Wundwin residents told The Associated Press by phone the quake was so strong that people rushed out of buildings and that ceilings in some dwellings were damaged. A resident of Naypyitaw also reached by phone said he did not feel the latest quake. Those contacted asked not to be named for fear of angering the military government, which prefers to closely control information.
The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake will worsen the existing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where a civil war had already displaced more than 3 million people.
It said the quake severely disrupted agricultural production and that a health emergency loomed because many medical facilities in the quake zone were damaged or destroyed.
Sunday's quake occurred on the morning of the first day of the country's three-day Thingyan holiday, which celebrates the traditional New Year. Public festivities for the holiday had already been cancelled.
