Modi govt shouldn`t have agreed to talks with Pakistan in first place: Congress

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Congress on Monday raised questions on India calling off the Foreign Secretary level talks scheduled between the two countries on August 25 in Islamabad, stating that the government shouldn`t have agreed to talks in the first place. Congress` senior leader Manish Tewari said that the government should not have invited Nawaz Sharif for any talks. “Was the government not aware of Pakistan sponsoring terror in India? Why did it invite Nawaz Sharif then?” asked Tewari. He further added that the government was aware of several incidents of border intrusions and the issue of Hafiz Saeed’s name being deleted from 26/11 chargesheet. Furthermore, calling the government`s strategy to deal with Pakistan `an incoherent approach`, another Congress leader Anand Sharma sidelined the issue of Hurriyat leaders meeting Pakistan High Commission and asked why were the talks agreed to in the first place.

Not a question of few Hurriyat leaders meeting Pak High Comm., fundamental issue is why were the talks agreed to? : Anand Sharma,Congress

— ANI (@ANI_news) August 18, 2014

Besides them, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh said "The BJP-led government has learnt it the hard way that there are no short-cuts to diplomatic processes particularly those having a long history.” Acting tough, India today called off Foreign Secretary- level talks with Pakistan next week and conveyed a blunt message that it was interfering in India`s internal affairs by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists which was "unacceptable". The Congress leader said that while it was a "diplomatic indiscretion" on part of Pakistan, "the Government of India also appeared not to have done its homework properly before deciding to go ahead with such high level talks." He said while peace between the two countries is the paramount need of the hour, the NDA government must ensure that a peaceful posture is not taken to be any sort of weakness. "Unfortunately, the out of way bonhomie extended to the Pakistan leadership, despite killing of our soldiers along the border, besides attempts at infiltration and ceasefire violations appears to have been taken as weakness which the NDA government must address seriously and urgently," Singh said. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh was to travel to Islamabad on August 25 to hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry, nearly two years after the Indo-Pak talks were stalled due to incidents along the LoC. (With Agency inputs)