New Delhi has canceled talks with Pakistan after three special officers were abducted and killed in Jammu and Kashmir. The move came a day after India agreed to Pakistan's proposal to hold talks between foreign ministers of both countries on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. New Delhi stated that the decision was taken in the face of brutal killings of security personnel by Pakistani entities and the recent release of 20 postal stamps by the neighbouring country glorifying terrorists confirm that “Pakistan will not mend its ways”.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Raveesh Kumar said, “Any conversation with Pakistan in such an environment would be meaningless. In view of the changed situation, there will be no meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York.” Three policemen were abducted and killed by suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Shopian district of South Kashmir, days after the outfit threatened officers to either quit government jobs or face death. The incident has reportedly triggered so much fear among special police officers, that several have even resigned.
Imran expresses disappointment
After the talks were canceled, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed disappointment at the “arrogant” and “negative” response of the Indian government to his call for resumption of the “peace dialogue”. He tweeted, “Disappointed at the arrogant & negative response by India to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue. However, all my life I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture.”
“Deeply disappointed”, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry released statement saying the government was “deeply disappointed” at the decision and called the reasons cited by India “entirely unconvincing”. Rejecting allegations of killing and mutilating the Indian border guard, Pakistan called it a “motivated and malicious propaganda”. The statement added, “By falsely raising the canard of 'terrorism', India can neither hide its unspeakable crimes against the Kashmiri people nor can it delegitimise their indigenous struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination.”
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also was “deeply saddened” by India's reversal. He said, “It was an opportunity, which I think India's domestic circumstances did not allow to materialise. There is no precedent of how diplomatic norms were trampled.” In a letter dated September 14 sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cricketer-turned-politician Khan, who only became PM last month, proposed a meeting between Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had accepted the offer at a mutually convenient date in New York, meaning to restart the dialogue process.
