Kartarpur corridor fine, but talks only after Pakistan stops terrorism: Sushma Swaraj

The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start, says Sushma Swaraj.

Pic Courtesy: ANI

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday ruled out resumption of talks with Pakistan, saying the agreement of the issue of Kartarpur corridor is not connected with the dialogue process between the two countries. In a stern message to Pakistan, the External Affairs Minister said that talks can be resumed the moment terror activities in and against India are stopped.

Addressing mediapersons, Sushma said, “Bilateral dialogue and Kartarpur corridor are two different things. I am very happy that for the last 20 years, rather many years, government of India has been asking for this Kartarpur corridor. And for the first time, Pakistan has responded positively to this.”

“But this does not mean that the bilateral dialogue will start only on this. On the bilateral dialogue we always say terror and talks can’t go together. The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start,” the External Affairs Minister added.

#WATCH For many years the Indian Government had been asking for this (#Kartarpur) corridor, only now Pakistan responded positively. It doesn’t mean the bilateral dialogue will start because of this, terror & talks can’t go together. : EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/iSPFRbyQI1

— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2018

The remark by the foreign minister comes on a day when two Union ministers, HS Puri and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, have gone to Pakistan to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor by country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Before leaving for Pakistan, HS Puri told mediapersons expressed his gratitude to the Pakistani government over Kartarpur corridor, pointing that it had been a long-standing demand of the members of the Sikh community.

On Wednesday, India also ruled out the possibility of the government accepting an invitation from Pakistan for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, slated to be held in Islamabad.

The SAARC summit was called off in 2016 when India decided to not take part in the same in the aftermath of the Uri attack. The terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 had claimed lives of at least 19 soldiers.