Slamming Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's statements, the BJP on Friday demanded that Government call off the dialogue with Pakistan as the country cannot "bear insults again and again". "I think the Foreign Minister of Pakistan does not know the ABC of diplomacy. He has to learn the basic elements of diplomacy i.e. courtesy and respect.
You may or may not agree with the other person but you cannot leave courtesy and respect due to him," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said. The opposition leader insisted this was not the first time that the Pakistani side had behaved in this manner.
"Earlier when the Pakistan Foreign Secretary (Salman Bashir) visited India and our Foreign Secretary gave some dossiers to him on terrorists, he remarked that this was a piece of literature," Swaraj said.
She alleged that the "same story" has been repeated this time. "Why should India bear insults again and again. The time has come when India should call off this dialogue," Swaraj said. Qureshi, when asked at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in Islamabad last night why Saeed was not being reined in by Pakistan from making anti-India speeches, shot back: "I agree that both sides need to create an enabling environment and not let the climate of engagement be vitiated by negative propaganda.
"But, I want to know to what extent did the Indian Home Secretary's statement on the eve of this dialogue help? We both(ministers) are of the opinion that it (G K Pillai's remarks) was uncalled for." The BJP regretted that Home Secretary G K Pillai was not "defended" by Krishna when he was "openly castigated" by Qureshi.
"The Foreign Minister of Pakistan chose to attack India's Home Secretary. I regret he was not defended there by India's Foreign Minister," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Taking a dig at Krishna, Qureshi today said the "Indian Foreign Minister received foreign policy directions from New Delhi repeatedly during our meeting". "I led Pakistan's team and I didn't need to make even a single phone call (to Pakistan leaders) during the day-long talks. Krishna is the principal for giving direction to foreign policy (but) why were directions being sent repeatedly from Delhi?," the Pakistan minister said. PTI
