In the doldrums: Pakistan made a ‘spectacle’ of talks, says Indian PM

Modi accuses Islamabad of stalling peace talks.


Agencies August 29, 2014

NEW DELHI:


Breaking his silence over the stalled peace talks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused Pakistan of having made a “spectacle” of India’s efforts to pursue warmer relations.


The foreign secretary-level talks between the two sides, which had been set for August 25 in Islamabad were called off after Pakistan’s high commissioner to New Delhi met Kashmiri leaders.

“We... were disappointed that Pakistan sought to make a spectacle of these efforts and went ahead with talks with secessionist elements from Jammu and Kashmir,” said Modi, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

However, Modi said he would pursue efforts to mend relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours who have fought three wars, two over the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.



“We will continue to make efforts to build peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties with Pakistan,” he said.

Modi, who took power in May, was speaking to reporters ahead of a maiden visit to Japan as India’s prime minister.

Pakistan’s foreign office had described meetings with Kashmiri leaders as a longstanding and regular practice ahead of talks with India.

Pakistan described the Hurriyat leaders as “stakeholders” in efforts to normalise relations between the two countries, and said the meetings were held “to facilitate meaningful discussions” with India.

Modi’s surprise move to invite his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to his swearing-in ceremony spurred hopes that peace talks between the two countries could resume.

But tensions have been rising between the countries because of several ceasefire violations along the border.



Earlier this month, the Indian premier accused Islamabad of waging a “proxy war” by sending militants to attack Indian targets.

Meanwhile, the second Made In Pakistan Expo in Mumbai, scheduled to start August 31, was abruptly cancelled at the last minute by organisers on Friday. In a terse statement, the organisers said, “We would like to inform you that due to the tense situation at the Line of Control (LoC) and on the advice from our partners ‘World Trade Centre’, we have ‘postponed’ the 2nd edition of MIPEM 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2014.

COMMENTS (38)

Peter | 9 years ago | Reply

@Raj Kafir: What difference does it make if Indira Gandhi and her family members were hindus, moslems, sikhs, christians, budhists etc. They are proud Indians. Served their country with distinction. In India it does not matter what religion you practice, what language you speak at home. This is magic of India. Look for yourself. They had President who was a Muslim, a Prime Minister was sikh, Rulling Party's Chairperson was a Roman Catholic. A Parsi soldier destroyed Pakistan. I am proud of India, even though my ancestors left India's shores in 1910. I am a Canadian, living in Ontario

Kushal | 9 years ago | Reply

@Raj Kaffir.. Are you the same Raj-USA or someone else. Raj-USA was quite logical in his arguments and would never provide any disinformation. The link which you provide regarding Parsis doesn't say that they are Muslims. They arrived from Iran to India to escape religious persecution. I wonder why didn't you refer to Wikipedia when forwarding a link reg Feroz Gandhi. Feroze Gandhi was not a Muslim he is a Parsi. Gandhi surname is shared by Hindu and Parsis alike in Gujarat.

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