NEW DELHI:Â Making it clear that the August 25 Foreign Secretary-level meeting with Pakistan was not a resumption of dialogue process, India has said the decision to cancel it was taken after that country took a “series of actions” which were not “conducive” to proceed ahead.
“When government of India takes a decision, it takes all factors into account. However, it also takes every situation into account and then decides and in this case, first of all, we were not having talks –
we were going to have talks.
“And therefore, our understanding was…this was not substantive, meaningful engagement… it was going to lead to that and therefore, we felt that in this environment, it would not serve any purpose…. A series of actions were taken which were not conducive to proceed ahead,” Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said.
He was asked if the recent cancellation of the FS-level talks by India meant that the government will go ahead with the engagement in case of terror attacks or ceasefire violations but will not talk if Pakistan chooses to consult Kashmiri separatists.
Asked why did India permit meetings between Pakistan and the Hurriyat in the past, he said, “Pakistan assured us, at the highest level, that they were committed to a peaceful dialogue on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and would not allow Pakistan or territories under its control to be used for terrorism against us.
“We know now, particularly after the Mumbai terror attacks and the manner in which Pakistan has pursued subsequent investigations and trials, that this assurance had no meaning and that an approach that is different to the one laid down by the Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration does not yield results.”
On whether there will be a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next month in New York, the Spokesperson said it was one of the issues to be discussed between the two foreign secretaries but now there were no talks on it between the two countries.
About Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit’s remarks that the cancellation of the talks should not lead to pessimism and that the two countries should move forward, the Spokesperson said, “In diplomacy, it is not always about saying the right things at the right time. It is also about avoiding to say the wrong things at any time.” –PTI
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