New Delhi: India on Monday blamed Pakistan for derailing the proposed foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries by insisting on talking to Kashmiri separatists despite India’s warning. However external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj made it clear that India would engage in dialogue only with the democratically-elected government in Pakistan and “never the Pakistan Army or the ISI.”
While not ruling out any meeting on the sidelines between PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the United States during their forthcoming visits to attend the UN General Assembly, she said there can be “no fullstop” in diplomacy with Pakistan but only “commas and semicolons.”
“As the situation emerges, we will respond. We are not going with any preset mind. What was the need for the Pakistan High Commissioner to call separatists? What did they achieve? There is no flaw in our policy. We told them in advance that if you talk to separatists, the talks will not take place,” Ms Swaraj said, adding that despite this, Pakistan chose to go ahead, following which India called off the talks.
