Cong raises questions over Indo-Pak's Ufa agreement; govt says will talk terror

Amid mounting suspense over holding of the Indo-Pak NSA-level talks, Congress today raised questions over Ufa agreement between the two countries and said there is "no basis for talks" unless India is fully assured that Pakistan will honour its commitments.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India had decided the agenda in Ufa itself and Pakistan should not "deviate" from it. "We are ready to talk on terror only," he said.

He said that the Indian government has made it clear to Pakistan that the talks will happen only at the National Security Adviser-level.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma, however, alleged there has been a "negligence somewhere" on part of the Narendra Modi government on the issue of talks with Pakistan, which is "now trying to show that India was keen for talks".

"There is no need to show this keenness. Whatever has happened so far has already happened. But we request the Government of India that as long as you are not assured of some proper outcome from the talks, please leave this effort (to hold talks)," Sharma, a former Minister of State for External Affairs, told reporters at the AICC briefing.

He said both the countries should definitely talk to resolve the complex issues between them but there should be an atmosphere for it.

"There is no basis for talks unless there is an assurance that Pakistani establishment will honour the commitments," he said, adding that the chain of incidents unfolding now make it clear that whatever happened in the Russian city of Ufa "did not have the support of the entire Pakistani establishment".

Recalling that his party had asked the government to reveal the details of the Ufa agreement to the nation and the Parliament immediately after it was signed, Sharma said the stated position of government on holding talks with Pakistan so far has been that talks are not possible unless it took concrete measures against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack and towards dismantling the terror infrastructure on its soil.

Targeting Modi over the issue, Sharma said, "If your government has deviated from that established policy, then the nation has a right to know what is the basis for doing it."