Antony rules out dialogue with Pak

Has made it clear that due to present hostilities, the govt is not in a mood to engage in any talks till the situation is resolved

Union Defence Minister A K Antony has ended the uncertainty that has been prevailing over the Indo-Pak dialogue specially a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counter part Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of a meeting in New York next month.

Responding to clarifications sought from him in the Rajya Sabha, the defence minister made it clear that under the present conditions in which there have been virtually daily viola- tions of the Line of Control (LOC) by the Pakistanis the government is not in a mood to engage in any dialogue till this situation is resolved.”This is the mood of the entire gover nment and there are no differences,” Antony said while stressing that this was not just the mood of the defence ministry but the entire government.

Antony’s straightforward assertion comes in the backdrop of hints that the prime minister Manmohan Singh is keen on holding talks with Pakistan. It was in this context that the leader of opposition Arun Jaitley had questioned the defence minister:” Is the government even now considering engagement between heads of gover nment?”

As members wanted the government to give a strong and befitting reply to Pakistan for these violations, Antony said that the security forces will do everything to protect the sanctity of the Line of Control.

In his statement that is the third after the recent violations, the defence minister asserted that Pakistan army is responsible for these attacks and this would have an impact on bi- lateral relations.

Antony had come under fire when his first statement did not indict the Pakistan Army directly. And blamed terrorists wearing the Pakistan Army’s uniform for the ambush of a team of Indian jawans.

He also made a statement about the INS Sindurakshak submarine disaster in which 18 navy personnel perished.