A tough Modiplomacy India cancels Pak talks

New Delhi: In what  may be the first sign of a tough diplomatic policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the first hint of Modiplomacy as the BJP government cancelled Foreign Secretary talks with Pakistan scheduled for August 25, following Pakistan’s decision to engage with separatist leaders ahead of the talks. The top leadership of the government was furious with Islamabad’s decision to court Hurriyat leaders.  “The Pakistani leaders have to decide who they want to talk to first, ” a senior government functionary told NewsMobile. 

Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit had met the Hurriyat leaders and he was categorically told that in his atmosphere it made no sense for the Foreign Secretary to travel to Islamabad

Basit was told that at a time when serious initiatives were being undertaken by the Government of India to move bilateral ties forward, including towards the resumption of a regular dialogue process, the invitation to so-called leaders of the Hurriyat by Pakistan’s High Commissioner does indeed raise questions about Pakistan’s sincerity, and shows that its negative approaches and attempts to interfere in India’s internal affairs continue unabated.

“Indian Foreign Secretary conveyed to the Pakistan High Commissioner today, in clear and unambiguous terms,  that Pakistan’s  continued efforts to interfere in India’s internal affairs were unacceptable,” the spokesperson of the Indian Foreign Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said.

New Delhi also told Islamabad that Pakistani High Commissioner’s meetings with these so called leaders of the Hurriyat undermines the constructive diplomatic engagement initiated by Prime Minister Modi in May on his very first day in office.

The only path available to Pakistan is to resolve outstanding issues through a peaceful bilateral dialogue within the framework and principles of the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh told Basit in a terse conversation.

He was told that under the present circumstances, it is felt that no useful purpose will be served by the Indian Foreign Secretary going to Islamabad next week. Foreign Secretary’s visit to Islamabad for talks on 25 August stands cancelled.  While earlier too the Indo Pak dialogue has been cancelled but the UPA did not do so when the Hurriyat leaders met with the Pakistani leaders and their envoys before crucial talks. The cancellation of the talks is symbolic and conveys a strong message to Pakistan that New Delhi will not take the matters lying down. The timing of the cancellation is also important as Islamabad has been provoking India following multiple incidents of cease fire violations and New Delhi called off its bluff by canceling the talks.

Earlier, on Monday, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India has sparked a controversy after inviting leaders of separatist groups in Kashmir for talks. Abdul Basit’s decision comes days before the foreign secretaries of the two nations are to hold talks in Islamabad.

The Pakistan High Commission often holds talks with Kashmiri separatist groups, but this time, the timing of Basit’s invitation has created a controversy.

The invitations have been issued to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, head of the Hurriyat’s hardline faction, senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah and Mohammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front or JKLF.

The decision to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks, with a new government in power in India, were preceded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to the heads of state of neighbouring nations to attend his swearing-in ceremony. This had renewed hopes about a fresh approach by both countries to solve their long-standing disputes.

BJP leader Subramanium Swamy said the invitations were an attempt to spoil the environment, but pointed out that Modi was the only Prime Minister to openly say that Pakistan was indulging in a “proxy war”. 

The Congress did not shy away from picking on the Modi government over the issue. 

In a tweet, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “Pak High Comm feting separatists, Pak Army intruding across the border, ISI attacking Indian Consulate in Herat BJP govt sleeps. Ache Din Agaye”.

Incidentally, this comes as Pakistan has violated ceasefire three times in 24 hours along the line of control in Kashmir.