Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: March 3, 2010
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-behind-centres-uturn-on-indopak-talks/586077/
Introduction: The only concrete outcomes that seemed to emerge from the 500-word
statement was the agreement to stay in touch - L K Advani
Describing the UPA government's approach to
Indo-Pak talks as a "self-inflicted insult," chairman of the BJP
Parliamentary Party L K Advani on Tuesday reiterated that India's U-turn on
the issue of "dialogue with Pakistan seemed to be the upshot of Washington's
nudge".
Advani said no concrete outcome was possible
through any dialogue with Pakistan till it abandoned terrorism. Advani said
the only outcome to have emerged out of the recently held Foreign Secretary-level
talks between the two countries was that "they would stay in touch".
Contrasting the statements of foreign secretaries
of two countries after the talks, the NDA working chairman wrote on his blog:
"Our foreign secretary called the recently concluded meeting 'constructive'
but her Pakistani counterpart ridiculed the meeting and said his country didn't
believe in 'cosmetic engagement' and did not want India to 'lecture' them
by demanding that Pakistan should 'do this or that'."
Advani also said Union External Affairs Minister
S M Krishna's statement on the recent India-Pakistan talks was full of "contradictions
and obfuscation". "Is dialogue linked with Pakistan's abandoning
its terrorism, or have the two been de-linked as was clearly said by our PM
at Sharm el-Sheikh," Advani demanded to know. He also recalled that the
"firmness" shown by the NDA government in dealing with Pakistan
bore fruits in the form of a joint statement in which Islamabad assured that
it would not permit Pakistan or any territory in Pakistan's control to be
used to support terrorism in any manner.
The BJP, meanwhile, said on Wednesday it would
"seek answers" from the government on "deviations" from
established foreign policy principles of resolving issue with Pakistan bilaterally,
signs of which, the party said, "were evident during the Prime Minister's
recent trip to Saudi Arabia".
"The Prime Minister requesting Saudi
Arabia to persuade Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism against India is
a subtle shift and major departure in foreign policy tenet. This is nothing
but the beginning of the third-party intervention. This also proves that (MoS)
Shashi Tharoor's remarks indicating Saudi role were not off the cuff,"
said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
