External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has downplayed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “warning” of an impending war between the two nuclear powers.
Khan in an opinion piece in the New York Times argued that it was urgent to begin discussions while a “nuclear shadow” hovers over South Asia.
Dismissing the article as of having no value, Jaishankar responded that he “did not have time to read it”.
In an interview with POLITICO in Brussels, the EAM ruled out any scope for negotiations until Islamabad reins in its financing and recruitment of militant groups
Jaishankar said the idea of talks is a non-starter while Pakistan “openly practices terrorism”.
“Terrorism is not something that is being conducted in dark corners of Pakistan. It’s done in broad daylight,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Both India and Pakistan have not engaged since January 2016 terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot by Pakistan-based terrorists, with New Delhi maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.
Jaishankar also denied that there was a Hindu nationalist agenda in removing Kashmir’s special status in order to allow more non-Muslims to buy property there and muscle aside the Muslim majority.
“The kind of people who say this are people who don’t know India. Does this sound like the culture of India?” he asked.
During his visit to Brussels, Jaishankar met the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who urged dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Significantly, Jaishankar, in his talks with Mogherini, conveyed that India is open to discussing “other outstanding issues bilaterally with Pakistan” in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi on August abrogated Article 370, that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.
Following the move, Imran Khan had warned of “Pulwama-like incidents to happen again”.
Pakistan decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with India over the Kashmir move. It expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and suspended trade with India.