India: It’s Pak tactic
ISLAMABAD / NEW DELHI, July 16: The Pakistan foreign minister, Mr Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told reporters in Islamabad that the Indian delegation appeared to be unwilling to commit to a roadmap for future engagement because it felt it did not have the mandate to do so. He contended that India’s “selective’ approach of discussing certain issues at the expense of the others did not conform to the spirit of the Prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his Pakistan counterpart,
Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani, in Bhutan in April.
“If we focus more only on those issues which India gives importance to and ignore those considered important by Pakistan, then I don’t think the talks can move forward,” Mr Qureshi said, adding that it would not make sense to
discuss issues such as promotion of cultural and trade relations at the expense of the core issues for Pakistan, such as Kashmir, peace and security, and Siachen.
The Pakistan minister also appeared to question Mr Krishna’s authority when he said that while he did not step out of the talks to “attend any phone calls”, the Indian minister “received foreign policy directions from New Delhi repeatedly during our meeting.”
“I led Pakistan’s team and I didn’t need to make even a single phone call (to Pakistan leaders) during the day-long talks. Mr Krishna
is the principal for giving direction to foreign policy (but) why were directions being sent repeatedly from Delhi? Who is the top foreign policy adviser for India?” Mr Qureshi wondered aloud, which New Delhi promptly dismissed as a futile exercise at scoring brownie points.
Mr Krishna, who spoke to the media upon arrival in New Delhi, responded to Mr Qureshi’s remarks by saying he had confined himself to the mandate given to him pursuant to the Manmohan-Gilani meeting. He described Mr Qureshi’s remark about him making telephone calls as an “extraordinary” statement.
“I have not spoken to anybody. The mandate given to me was so precise, so clear, that it does not need any additional instructions from Delhi,” Mr Krishna countered. “The foreign ministers are always in touch with their base, with the political leadership and governmental leadership. There is nothing wrong even if something has happened on these lines,” he elaborated.
New Delhi believed Mr Qureshi’s remarks about the home secretary, Mr G.K. Pillai, was a “diversionary tactic” by Pakistan, which has so far failed to take action on its promises made to home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, during his visit to Islamabad. The top government sources i that certain hawkish elements” in Pakistan wanted to wreck the talks between the home ministers and the home secretaries of the two countries.
The sources in Delhi said Mr Qureshi’s outburst was the handiwork of elements who were upset with the resumption of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
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