Take a cue from Obama, cancel talks with Nawaz Sharif: BJP tells PM

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New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday renewed its demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not hold any talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York, saying he should take a cue from US President Barack Obama who cancelled his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Snowden issue.
In the wake of the killing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistani attackers along the Line of Control(LoC) in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, the main opposition party maintained there is a sufficient ground not to hold a dialogue with the neighbouring country.
"I think he (Prime Minister) should take a cue from Mr Obama who had cancelled his meeting with Mr Putin only on giving an asylum to somebody who was wanted by USA," senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters.
In a rare snub, Obama on Wednesday cancelled his planned talks with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit at St Petersburg in Russia next month after intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum by Moscow.
"Five soldiers have been killed. Right now, there is sufficient ground to declare that the Indian Prime Minister will not hold any talks with Pakistan till they fulfil the commitment given to (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee...," Joshi said.
BJP has always insisted that the January 6, 2004 joint statement between the two countries - signed by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf - should be the basis for all bilateral engagement between the two nations. In the joint statement, Pakistan had committed not to allow territories under its control to be used for terrorism against India.
Joshi's statement assumes significance amid speculation that Singh may hold bilateral talks with Sharif during his visit to the US next month-end for the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
Another BJP leader Yashwant Sinha expressed satisfaction over Defence Minister A.K. Antony's fresh statement in Parliament that 'specialist troops' of Pakistan were involved in the killing of soldiers, but demanded there should be no talks with the neighbouring country.
"Our demand to end talks with Pakistan still holds," Sinha said.
Taking a different line, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said peace negotiations with Pakistan should continue. He, however, condemned the killing of the five Indian jawans. "Every incident, which leads to the loss of life, should be combated by India fearlessly. And every piece of incident has to be taken care of," Dasgupta said.