NEW DEHLI: India has unilaterally called off the meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York.

The Spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said that the initiative has been taken over the killing of three policemen in occupied Kashmir as well as the release of postal stamps glorifying Kashmiri Mujahid Burhan Wani. He said talks with Pakistan in such an environment would be meaningless.

Reacting to the Indian government decision of calling off the meeting, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says India has wasted an opportunity of peace by refusing a meeting between foreign ministers of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York. He said Pakistan wants peace but unfortunately, India did not give a positive response. He said it is need of the hour that both sides sit together and hold talks for peace and stability in the region. He said apparently Indian government is facing pressure internally due to future elections. 

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan sincerely wants a resolution of all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India through negotiations on the dialogue table. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said dialogue is the only way forward to resolve all issues confronting the region. He said Pakistan has always extended an olive branch to India for the resolution of problems and enhancing bilateral ties in an amicable manner, but the latter does not come out of its internal politics. The Minister said it is the leadership, which has the mettle to solve problems on the negotiating table, but it seems India lacks this. He said Pakistan is ready for talks, but India is reluctant in this regard.

The Minister said we can only wish India to come to the negotiating table, but we can neither pressurize anybody nor will accept the same for this purpose.   Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the world wants connectivity and promote regional trade, but India is creating problems in this way. He said India’s stubbornness is also adversely affecting future of the SAARC countries.

A relevant piece published earlier: 

According to the Foreign Office (FO), Prime Minister Imran Khan has approached Indian premier by means of a correspondence calling for the resumption of talks in order to resolve all issues. FO Spokesman took to the tweeter to inform that the PM had responded to Modi’s letter in a positive spirit and reciprocated his sentiments: “We await a formal response from India”, he added. Meanwhile, Indian Ministry of External Affairs has insinuated that the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj will be meeting later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.