Talks with India: Oppn blames govt for ‘diplomatic debacle’
islamabad — The country’s two major opposition parties have questioned the “haste” shown by Prime Minister Imran Khan in making efforts to mend ties with India and held him responsible for the “diplomatic debacle”, saying he should have done his “homework” before approaching for a meeting.
Dawn News TV channel reported that two major opposition parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — have held the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government responsible for the latest “diplomatic debacle” following New Delhi’s refusal to hold the meeting.
Former foreign minister and PML-N lawmaker Khawaja Asif criticised Imran Khan for stating in the letter that “Pakistan remains ready to discuss terrorism” and said it seemed the government was “not prepared” from the day one.
“Too much keenness being
shown by the prime minister showed weakness on our part. Giving them (India) too much reflects haste on our part to mend fences with India,” Asif was quoted as saying by Dawn News TV channel.
Asif said he was not against normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India but “dignity must be maintained”.
He regretted that Imran Khan wrote a letter in which he “talked about terrorism” without realising that the US and India had recently
They have crossed all diplomatic norms and protocols to emerge as a belligerent nuclear power that is only looking to externalise its own extremisms
Sherry Rehman, PPP leader
issued a joint statement after the visit of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to New Delhi and Islamabad which was “dead against” Pakistan.
He also criticised Indian Prime Minister Modi, alleging that “he is playing to the gallery” as part of poll campaign.
PPP Vice-President and former envoy to the US Sherry Rehman said that the Imran Khan government should have done its homework before approaching India for a meeting, especially after the initial response.
“Right now, however the Indian government and army chief response is both immature and irresponsible. What are they threatening Pakistan about?
“They have crossed all diplomatic norms and protocols to emerge as a belligerent nuclear power that is only looking to externalise its own extremisms,” Sherry Rehman said on her official social media page on Twitter. —