India called off the much anticipated talks scheduled for this week between the national security advisers (NSAs) of India and Pakistan.
Talking to the media, Indian Foreign Minister Shushma Swaraj called the cancellation of the talks a “setback” but stated that India believed “dialogue” was the only solution to the countries’ problems. “War never solved anything in the world” she said.
The Indian foreign minister did, however, blame the Pakistani Premiere Mian Nawaz Sharif for the cancellation of the talks, saying that it was he who had succumbed to pressure of Pakistan’s “hawks” and cancelled last year’s anti-terror talks. She also criticised Pakistani National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, who she said had waved three dossiers of evidence at a press conference. The dosiers allegedly contained evidence of India’s subversive efforts against Pakistan and she said that someone like Aziz, whom she considered a person of “serious deportment” should not have behaved in such a manner.
When asked about her opinion of former Indian Premiere Atal Behari Vajpayee’s policy to allow Hurryat leaders to meet Pakistani officials, she said “Let bygones be bygones”. Regarding rumors of alleged Mumbai bomber Dawood Ibrahim’s presence in Karachi, she said: “Two governments don’t discuss issues on media hearsay. And whatever evidence we have on anything will not be discussed with you before we share it with our Pakistani interlocutors.”
