In the doldrums: Pakistan made a ‘spectacle’ of talks, says Indian PM
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)
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@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
@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.
@Raj Kafir: Parsis are not Muslims. They are Zoroastrians. Both are different religion.
@Raj Kafir: Parsis are NOT Muslims. They are Zoroastrians and they follow one of the oldest religions in the world, though not as old as Hinduism. There are parallels between the Zend Avesta and the Rig Veda, with both having tributes to the sun. The Parsis were persecuted in Iran and they made it to Gujarat in India where they have been thriving ever since. India's largest business group is Parsi and their contributions to India are enormous.
Also to note is that the Yazdis of Iran are the sole surviving Zoroastrians in Iran who were living secluded up on a mountain and they are now being systematically decimated or converted by ISIS.
BEIRUT: Several dozen Yazidi women kidnapped by Islamic State jihadists in Iraq have been taken to Syria, forced to convert and sold into marriage to militants, a monitoring group said Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based NGO, said it had confirmed that at least 27 Yazidi women had been sold for around $1,000 each to IS fighters.
The group said it was aware that some 300 Yazidi women had been kidnapped and transported to Syria by the jihadists, but it had so far documented the sale into marriage of 27.
@irony: Parsis are Muslims. Just replied to Mr Abdul Malik Saab. Hope ET will publish.
@Abdul Malik Saab:
On your request I just Googled and found Parsi are Muslims. Once a Muslim always a Muslim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsi
Yes we have Google in my adopted country where Pakistanis identify themselves as Indians. Please do not forget to read this link which clarifies Mahatma Gandhi's invention in changing the name of Mr. Firoze Khan to Firoze Gandhi. Mere changing the name does not change one's inner belief. He was a Muslim and Rajiv Gandhi was first Muslim Prime Minister of India. Why it is difficult to digest for Pakistanis that Rajiv Gandhi was a Muslim. They should be proud that Muslims ruled India in the guise of Hindus.
http://www.vepachedu.org/Nehrudynasty.html
Regards, read my comment after 18 hours of load shedding. Raj Kafir, Calgary CANADA ( where Pakistanis call themselves as INDIANS )
@Raj Kafir: Indiras husband was a parsi. check ur facts.
@Hobi Haripur wala: Yeah like 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999. Just waiting to see you try something this time.
@Raj Kafir: Do not post a reply just because you have to post something, even if you know nothing about it.
Feroze Jehangir Gandhi was born to a Parsi family at the Tehmulji Nariman Hospital situated in Fort, Bombay. His parents, Faredoon Jehangir and Ratimai (formerly Ratimai Commissariat), lived in Nauroji Natakwala Bhawan in Khetwadi Mohalla in Bombay.[5] His father Jehangir Gandhi was a Marine Engineer in Killick Nixon and was later promoted as a Warrant Engineer.[6] Feroze was the youngest of the five children with two brothers Dorab Gandhi and Faridun Jehangir Gandhi,[7][8] and two sisters, Tehmina Kershashp Gandhi and Aloo Gandhi Dastur.[9] The family had migrated to Bombay from Bharuch in South Gujarat where their ancestral home, which belonged to his grandfather, still exists in Kotpariwad.[10]
In the early 1920s, after the death of his father, Feroze and his mother moved to Allahabad to live with his unmarried maternal aunt, Shirin Commissariat, a surgeon at the city's Lady Dufferin Hospital (Biographer Katherine Frank has speculated that Feroze was in fact the biological son of Shirin Commissariat.[11]) He attended the Vidya Mandir High School and then graduated from the British-staffed Ewing Christian College.[6]
Don't you have Google / wiki in the country you have chosen to infest ?
@Hunza wala any one who disagrees with you is a hindu? don't be an idiot. I am as much pakistani as you are if not more.
@Syed Jalal Kashmiri: I suggest that you stand for elections in November, win and than boot out India,
@Naman Randhawa: Pakistan has Djinn energy, per the head of the Pak Atomic Energy Commission! All the load shedding and power outages in Pakistan are because of the propaganda of the Zionists, Indians and Americans.
@Hobi Haripur wala: All the four wars were stated by Pakistan, and you lost in all of them. You also lost half the country, and should you try again, you will lose another half, which we call Baluchistan.
@Hobi Haripur wala: Ever wondered how 90K Pakistani soldiers surrendered to 3K "docile Indians" in 1971?
@Syed Jalal Kashmiri: there are also Kashmiri Hindu who are living there for thousands of years and islam came much later so who is real owner of kashmir , the one who was already living there or who came later and occupied forcefully
@M. P. Rao: Assuming all that you say in your last post to @Bewildered is true, answer to your question in (2) lies in your observations in (3) of the same post. That are the good reasons to talk & negotiate. Pak may have its own laundry-list too. Jaw-Jaw is always better than War-War. A pause in talk doesn't mean its termination.
I am a Kashmiri from Srinagar, Indian occupied Kashmir. We never were, are, nor ever shall be Indians.
No offense to Indians. We are a different culture and religion from you.
@Rana Ajeet: Believe me '....a lowly docile servile race ..' [famous description of hindus] Will be unable to win any war. Muslim hating hindus like you, should get work, in building toilets. A country like India needs millions of toilets. Should keep you employed for years and years.
@M. P. Rao: I agree. Furthermore in my opinion Pakistan has kept the Kashmir issue bubbling along because so they can ignore more pressing issues raised in this column. Also it keeps jihadist Muslim elements in Pakistan and India stirred up that they can carry out terrorist activities in India.
@Bewildered: 1) Continue to be bewildered, for life: Just before the slated talks, export Terrorists onto our Soil (most of whom have already met their maker or in the process of being hunted down) and to support that Terror Export, you dug tunnels, gave them fire & shelling cover. :( 2) Anyway give me 1 reason why should we hold talks with you? 3) Is it because you have been sheltering Mafia Dons (who committed ghastly crimes against our Innocent Citizens), Train, Arm, Equip, Fund and Facilitate Navigational support so that they could reach our shores and place bombs in our Trains or attack our public places killing Unconnected & Innocent Women, Aged, Children and all others and some of them Muslims?
“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
Quite contrary to the claim, it is always India who makes a spectacle by running of from the dialogue on one excuse or the other, or even create one by false flag operation. Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory which India is continuously trying to illegally merge with the Indian union during the past 67 years. India should know that neither Kashmiris themselves nor Pakistan will ever allow this to happen, does not matter how much India try to suppress Kashmiris with brutality or intimidate Pakistan.
@Nadeem: How long will u take to liberate Kashmir? 70 years have already elapsed and India is getting stronger day by day and now India is not ruled by anti-national Muslim loving Nehru dynasty which left Pakistan unoccupied in 1965 and 1971.Believe me next war is going to be very decisive
1) Since 1965 (about to enter 50th Year) what has Indo-Pak Talks achieved? 2) Both India's and Pakistan's stand on Kashmir hasn't altered since Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. 3) For decades, while both the sides claim the Unprovoked Firings & Shellings from the opposing side and sometimes loss of lives with property. 4) Neither accept that they have started that Unprovoked Cross-Border Firings & Shellings. 5) But, very surprisingly only one side Terrorists enter through tunnels or from common seas to create havoc in the lives of the local citizens, who could belong to any community and the whole world knows which is the suffering country, due this Unprovoked Cross-Border Firings / Shellings or Navigational Support, which facilitated Terrorists crossing the borders, through Tunnels or where they got training, arms & Cover-Fire or Navigational Support, in case of sea rout. 6) Even the same World also knows that Suicide Bombers are targeting Unconnected & Innocent Citizens of the other side too and they also know that they were also trained, armed, equipped & exported only to return after failing the mission and returned to wreck havoc on their host country's Unconnected & Innocent Citizens. 7) Now, to what purpose India-Pakistan talk and to achieve what Objective!?
@tahir: Yep, with so much energy not an iota of that energy is channelized for the Immunization of Children & Pregnant Women, Nutrition for all, Minimum Earning Opportunities for all and overall Development of all Pakistan's all Population. And Energy not directed properly gets wasted and the same has been happening since August 14, 1947. :(
@Nadeem: I totally agree with you. As an Indian I'll say that there will be no peace in a 1000 years until PoK is settled to India's satisfaction. Kashmir has been a part of our culture for over 5000 years. We won't let it go. 70 years is a drop in the ocean.
@Rashid: Nobody likes it when a paid hindu troll, like you, uses a Muslim name.
No peace till Kashmir is liberated it is core issue and that is bottom line,
When the establishment won't even let an elected government to rule Pakistan, where is the question of them letting peace bloom with India?
@tahir: Mian we a ready to convert your energy to ash ,
The basics in talks is sincerity and trust on each other for future performance on agreed issues. Till we do not have this trust and no forward actions follow on issues we agreed, the talks are meaningless and wastage of time.
Pakistan should realise that Nehru Gandhi Dynasty is not in power any more. Indira Gandhi being a Muslim widow, Rajiv Gandhi being a first Muslim prime minister of India, and Sonia Gandhi being a Muslim widow too had soft corner for Muslim country Pakistan. Now the game has changed.
PS: Indira's husband was Firoze Khan, a Muslim and Mahatma Gandhi gave him his last name so that it appeared to the poor Indians that Indira married a Hindu. Reality is Indira married a Muslim, and her sons were Muslims, and Rajiv was the first Muslim Prime Minister of India and hence soft corner for Muslims of the sub continent.
ET, please print. Thanks Raj Kafir, Calgary Canada.
Talks would have been a non-starter if Pakistan had not agreed to keep the talks between Indian and Pakistan. Anyway these talks are a waste of time anyway. Nothing will change.
at some point kashmir has to be dropped by both sides from the plate if any meaningful progress is hoped for. else economy of pakistan has been leased to terrorist of various colours to support the 'freedom struggle' of kashmiri muslims.
it will be good to assess "azad" kashmir's contribution to the GDP of the country vs the cataclysmic effect 'freedom struggle" has brought on the civil society and investment climate of the country. only way forward is to remove the element of grandstanding and approach the issue with cold economic perspective.
well we cannot afford to stop fighting because it uses energy, pakistan is all about energy....will do it all the way.
Are we really in any position to maintain confrontation with India? Let us focus on Pakistan instead of wasting energy on Kashmir.