‘Taliban claim taken up with Pak’

KOZHIKODE: India has brought to the notice of Pakistan, the Taliban’s claims that the abducted engineer K. Sooryanarayana was killed in Afghanistan at the behest of the Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

Expressing the nation’s grave concern over the matter, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said on Wednesday that the issue, has been brought to the notice of Pakistan National Assembly Opposition leader Maulana Fazalur Rahman, who is on a visit to India.

“The Pak leader dismissed the involvement of Taliban in the killing and cited criminal elements instead,” he added. Narayanan, however, said the Government was not sure whether ISI was involved in the killing of Sooryanarayana.

“But we are very much aware of the large presence of ISI in Afghanistan and are seriously concerned about the safety of Indians there,” he said.

Security has been strengthened for Indians working in Afghanistan, but there is no question of calling them back in view of a ‘Taliban threat’, he added.