Terror and talks cannot go together, says Rajnath

As the political crisis deepened in Pakistan, New Delhi on Monday braced for a prolonged hiatus in its engagement with Islamabad with Home Minister Rajnath Singh toeing the hard line and ruling out meeting his Pakistani counterpart in Nepal this month.

“Terror and talks cannot go together,” Singh was quoted saying in a Ministry of Home Affairs press release.

It sought to dismiss speculation about a possible meeting between Singh and Interior Minister of Pakistan Chaudhury Nisar Ali Khan in Kathmandu on the sidelines of the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) conclave on September 18 and 19.

The home minister’s remark was in line with the tough stand of the Narendra Modi government since it called off foreign secretary-level dialogue between the two countries in protest against Pakistan’s move to seek the views of the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist organisations from Kashmir ahead of its parleys with India.

Sources told Deccan Herald that the government would rather wait and watch the current volatile situation in the neighbouring country.