India- Pak talks off
Government dumps Imran Khan’s talks offer after three policemen in J& K were killed.
India on Friday called off a meeting between Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Pakistan, citing the brutal killings of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad releasing postage stamps “glorifying” Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani. The two ministers were due to meet on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York this month.
While accepting the proposal for the meeting, India had, however, made it clear that it was not the resumption of dialogue and the decision doesn’t change the country’s position on cross- border terrorism. The meet was supposed to be the first ministerial talks in three years.
Announcing the cancellation of the meeting, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the incidents “exposed” the “true face” of Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan to the world as well as Islamabad’s evil agenda behind the proposal for talks. The MEA spokesperson said any conversation with Pakistan in such an environment would be “meaningless”.
Reacting to the development, Pakistan said it regretted India’s decision not to meet, with foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi saying that “clapping can’t be done with a single hand.” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi alleged that “India has priorities other than dialogue, adding there is a group in the New Delhi that doesn’t want talks to take place. He went on to say that if India doesn’t want dialogue, then Pakistan also won’t be in a haste either.
Mr Qureshi said that Pakistan can only wish India to come to the negotiating table, but “we can neither pressurise anybody nor will accept the same for this purpose.”
He added that the world wants connectivity and promote regional trade, but India is creating problems. India’s “stubbornness” is also adversely affecting future of the SAARC countries, the Radio Pakistan report said.
SURPRISED by India’s move as New Delhi should not have agreed for it in the first place due to forthcoming elections but after agreeing for a meeting it was more surprising that it backed out. — ABDUL BASIT, Former High Commissioner to India IT was “unfortunate” that India cancelled the meeting as it would have created an environment for peace. — SARTAJ AZIZ, former advisor on foreign affairs