SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI, Aug 23:
Political parties today expressed disappointment over cancellation of India-Pakistan NSA talks even as the separatists accused Government of India for the development.
Congress sought to fault the Narendra Modi Government, saying it had played into the hands of Pakistan and given it an opportunity to wriggle out of a dialogue on terror, evoking a sharp reaction from BJP which rubbished the contention.
Former J&K Chief Minister and leader of National Conference Farooq Abdullah blamed separatists for the cancellation of the talks.
Farooq Abdullah, while terming the cancellation of talks as unfortunate, said, “These self-claimed champions of Kashmiris (separatists) should have shown some courage and backed off themselves. What was the hurry? The Hurriyat and other separatists receive funds from Pakistan. Their viewpoint is already reflected by Pakistan.
“What point does it serve them to show their presence at reception? They could have easily avoided that.”
Abdullah’s son and another former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while expressing disappointment, said he expected this to happen going by last year’s experience when India cancelled Foreign Secretary-level talks over Hurriyat issue.
“(I am) very disappointed at the turn of events,” he told PTI. He said he was worried about this from the time when Foreign Secretary level talks were cancelled last year on the same issue.
While this was expected seeing the turn of events, nevertheless that “doesn’t make the sense of disappointment any less acute”, he added.
Moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also said that cancellation of the talks was unfortunate.
“Yet another opportunity lost by both the countries to engage with each other. The last nail in the coffin was put by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she made it clear that there will not be any talks on Kashmir. Instead of moving forward, we are only moving backwards,” he said.
The Mirwaiz of Kashmir regretted that the BJP had assured, along with its ally PDP, that they would talk to all shades of opinion. “I think there is a lot of difference in what they say and what they do,” the Hurriyat leader said.
He hoped a better sense will prevail and the Government will discuss Kashmir with Kashmiris.
Another separatist leader Shabir Shah, who continues to be under house arrest at the guest house in South Delhi, said he too was disappointed that the talks had been cancelled.
“I wish the government had not put any conditions to Pakistan ahead of talks,” he said.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, also termed the cancellation of NSA talks as unfortunate but said “at the end of the day, it is a diplomatic victory for us as well as Pakistan”.
Ayaz Akbar, the spokesman for the hardline group, said, “A message has gone to the world that Kashmir issue is not a bilateral territorial dispute between India and Pakistan and that people of Jammu and Kashmir are the principal party to it. The fanatic approach adopted by Government is not practicable. How long will New Delhi pursue this policy?”
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in Delhi, “Unfortunately, the Government of India has played into its (Pakistan’s) hands by being imprecise, by being unprepared, by lacking focus, by being ad hoc, by not doing sufficient hard-nosed groundwork, good old-fashioned diplomacy and preparation.
“We are very sad that all the gains of the last 10-odd years on Indo-Pak settlement of at least some issues, are given a setback by such aborted talks. No such opportunity should have been given to Pakistan to wriggle out of as serious an issue as terror.”
BJP spokesman Sambit Patra refuted Congress’ charge and said the “strong” Government did the “right diplomacy” with Pakistan by making its past practice of meeting Hurriyat leaders as “mission impossible”.
Samajwadi Party stood by the Modi Government on the issue, saying that Pakistan’s NSA’s insistence on meeting separatist leaders was not right and talks and terrorism cannot go hand in hand.
CPM leader Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami said the development was a “huge disappointment” for all those who want the peace process to be strengthened. “The cancellation of talks has only helped the fundamentalist and extremists on both sides,” he said. (PTI)
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