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Russia expresses concern over Pak coup

Russia has expressed deep concern over the alarming developments in Pakistan caused by the military takeover of the administration, the Russian foreign ministry said in its initial reaction to the developments.

In a statement issued in Moscow, the foreign ministry hoped the events would not lead to destability in the country and that democracy would be restored soon.

Referring to the sharp cleavage between the civilian regime and the military in Pakistan, the foreign ministry recalled how the willingness of the Nawaz Sharief government to withdraw Pak troops from the Kargil mountains was declared by extremists and fundamentalists as ''an act of treachery'' on the part of the government.

But Moscow at the same time said rulers in Islamabad had themselves in the past extended active assistance to the Pakistani fundamentalists.

The latest events in Islamabad might make resumption of the Indo-Pak talks difficult, the foreign office felt.

UNI

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