PM Imran reacts angrily to ‘arrogant’ Indian response to dialogue offer

Have come across small men lacking "vision" occupy big offices all my life, premier says

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has angrily reacted to New Delhi’s decision to call off a scheduled meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, saying India’s ‘arrogant and negative’ response has disappointed him.

Khan, who had called for resumption of peace dialogue with India through a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week, took to Twitter to express his displeasure at India’s last minute’s decision to cancel the meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York on September 27.



“Disappointed at the arrogant & negative response by India to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue. However, all my life I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture,” PM said in an oblique reference to Modi.

Khan had, on September 14, written a letter to his Indian counterpart offering him an olive branch to resume the dialogue between the two countries on all issues — including Kashmir and terrorism.

In the letter addressing the Indian premier as ‘Modi Sahab’, Khan had also suggested a meeting between the foreign ministers and said Pakistan ‘remains ready’ to discuss terrorism.

Responding to Khan’s offer, India initially accepted the proposal of the meeting, saying, “It will be just a meeting, not a resumption of dialogue.” However, in a sudden change of heart, India announced calling off the meeting by accusing PM Khan of harbouring an ‘evil agenda’.

India in a strongly-worded statement cited recent attacks in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) by ‘Pakistan-based groups’ and issuance of stamps by the Pakistan Post carrying pictures of Kashmiri freedom fighters as reasons behind cancellation of the scheduled meeting.

“Both acts expose Pakistan’s evil agenda and the true face of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, rendering talks meaningless,” said a statement released by Indian External Affairs ministry.

On Friday, Pakistan expressed ‘deep disappointment’ over India calling off the planned moot and said the reasons cited for the cancellation were ‘entirely unconvincing’.

Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said the development was an emblem of how India had once again squandered an opportunity for peace.

New Delhi squandered opportunity for peace once again: FO

He clarified that the killing of a soldier of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) took place two days prior to India’s assent to the ministerial meeting while the stamps were released before the July 25 general election.

The spokesperson said the stamps were issued to highlight abject rights violations by India in IOK. He said a 2018 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the same. “New Delhi’s turnaround has squandered an opportunity to reset ties between the regional rivals,” he added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by how India first accepted Pakistan’s offer and then backtracked.

Qureshi, who on Saturday left for the US to attend the UNGA, briefly talked to reporters at the airport. “To our understanding, it would be beneficial for the entire region if countries sit down for dialogue and find solutions to the outstanding issues,” he said.



He said New Delhi used shallow excuses to cancel the planned meeting. “India had to look for reasons in their bid to justify cancellation of the meeting. Issuance of stamps by the Pakistan Post is just an excuse,” he said.

Qureshi said it was inappropriate for India to use an issue that happened in July to cancel a meeting it agreed to hold in September. He said in his opinion, India’s internal circumstances had forced its government to take back this decision.

“It will be difficult to find a precedent for behaviour like India’s which trampled the diplomatic norms by first agreeing to the meeting and then cancelling it,” he added.