Hyderabad: “If Pakistan wants to hold talks with Kashmir separatists, foreign secretary-level talks (between India and Pakistan) will not be held. We have started a new foreign policy. We will not threaten anyone, but at the same time we are not scared of anyone. We will not compromise the country’s security and allow someone to play with it,” BJP national president, Mr Amit Shah, said on Thursday.
Mr Shah, who is in Hyderabad on a two-day visit to strengthen the party here, was addressing party workers at a meeting in Secunderabad. He asserted that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre would not compromise on the security and integrity of the country by allowing Kashmiri separatists a role in Indo-Pak talks nor would it allow Pakistan to fiddle with India’s internal affairs.
“Mr Narendra Modi’s government has made several new beginnings. India-Pakistan talks are on for a long time and Pak commissioners had spoken to Kashmiri separatists then. Mr Modi called for a meeting of SAARC countries and extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan,” he said.
Mr Shah added that while the government was trying to engage in secretary-level talks, the Pakistan High Commissioner to India again tried to hold talks with Kashmiri separatists, which was unacceptable.
“But he (Pak envoy) did not know that this time the Mr Narendra Modi-led BJP government was in power in India. When we got the information around 2 pm that the Pakistan High Commissioner was holding talks with Kashmir separatists, the Centre called off talks. Modi made it clear that it was a prestige issue for the country besides its unity and integrity. There will be no compromise on this issue,” he remarked.
