Shashi Tharoor asks 'confused' govt to share Pakistan policy with nation

New Delhi: Asserting that the grand old party had absolutely no objections with regard to the proposed meeting with Pakistani leadership, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday called for a coherent policy while stating that it was crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to take the nation into confidence and reveal their vision and policy towards the Asian neighbour.

"We have seen a lot of confusion on the Pakistan policy and the government has not taken the nation into confidence as to what is their vision into which they are pursuing this policy. Why are they meeting Pakistan? What is the objective? Have they given up the conditions that Pakistan must not meet Hurriyat, that Pakistan must take concrete action on punishing the perpetrators of 26/11? Which we know they have not done as Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is out of prison enjoying his life," Tharoor told ANI here.

Further questioning the government for agreeing to have talks with Pakistan, the former minister of state of external affairs asked if India was satisfied with the recent information provided by Islamabad on Pathankot and asked whether this development was a reward for the same.

"It is important that the nation be taken into confidence. The public must be told what New Delhi`s policy on Pakistan is," Tharoor added.

Talking about the Centre`s tough stand on the Hurriyat leaders meeting with the Pakistani envoy which had earlier led to the cancellation of talks, the Congress leader said that the policy with the separatists was an unwise one.

"The earlier red line about meeting the Hurriyat was an unwise red line. It`s not wise for any government to tie their own hands by creating such conditions. In the UPA time, we said that they were Indian citizens and they can meet whoever they like. Today, the government has boxed itself into a corner and the sooner they move away from these conditions the better," Tharoor said.

He also stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government should be wise to follow the logic behind cancelling the talks and not do it for `trivial reasons`.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, today to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ministerial meeting where she is expected to raise the Pathankot terror attack with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

This development comes amid the stalled Foreign Secretary-level talks between both nations following the impasse over the probe of the January 2016 Pathankot Air Base terror attack.

According to official sources, the Foreign Secretaries will meet only after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Pakistan arrives in India and makes concrete progress in the probe.While both Swaraj and Aziz will hold official bilateral talks tomorrow, they will come face-to-face at the meeting tonight.