No decision yet on Narendra Modi's Pakistan visit for SAARC summit: MEA
New Delhi: Virtually hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, without mentioning any names, singled out Pakistan as the only South Asian country breeding terrorism in the region while addressing the Hangzhou G-20 summit, government sources signalled that he is likely to visit Pakistan for the Saarc summit in November this year in yet another bid to ease tensions in bilateral relations.
If the PM’s trip to Islamabad actually materialises, it will be against the backdrop of tensions over the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. External affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said, however, on Tuesday that decisions and announcements of this kind were not made so far in advance, when asked about the possibility of the PM visiting Pakistan.
The speculation about the PM’s possible visit gained ground after India’s high commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was reported in that country’s Dawn newspaper as having said on Monday that “I can’t say about the future... but as of today Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the Saarc summit in November”.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti hit out at the separatists for “spoiling” the youth of the Kashmir Valley and termed as an “insult” to ‘Kashmiriyat’ their action of shutting the door on members of the all-party delegation of MPs that explored ways to restore peace in the troubled state.
By spurning talks, she said, the separatist leaders were not facilitating resolution of the problem but stalling the process for finding lasting peace. “We have lost several opportunities in the past to resolve the issue through engagement and dialogue and today again if we miss the chance, the coming generations will never forgive us for our intransigence,” the Chief Minister told the gathering at a function for formal launch of UJALA scheme in Kashmir under which LED bulbs will be supplied.
Referring to the separatists’ decision to not talk to the visiting all-party delegation, Mehbooba said it was “an insult to Kashmiriyat, to us”. She said an opportunity has presented itself for addressing the Kashmir issue as the country has a strong Prime Minister in Narendra Modi who has called for an end to the violence.
“Today, there is an opportunity as there is a very strong Prime Minister in this country. Today, in this situation, the cream of the country, members of the Parliament, came to you (as part of all-party delegation) and many among them said that they want to talk without any conditions,” she said.
