India Confirms Dialogue, Terrorism Can’t Go Together
(MENAFN) India has firmly restated its long-standing position that “terrorism and dialogue cannot go together” in reaction to recent comments by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who indicated Islamabad’s willingness to engage in talks with New Delhi.
During a press conference held in New Delhi on Thursday, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, highlighted that India’s approach toward diplomatic engagement with Pakistan remains unchanged.
Jaiswal emphasized that any potential conversations between the two neighboring nations would be contingent upon Pakistan addressing terrorism-related concerns.
“And as far as the issue of terrorism is concerned, any discussion with Pakistan will focus on the list of terrorists we had provided to them some years ago – they should hand them over to us,” he stated, underscoring that concrete action on these individuals remains a prerequisite for any meaningful dialogue.
Supporting this view, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated on Friday that Pakistan must first surrender individuals labeled as terrorists by both India and the United Nations, such as Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed.
Azhar and Saeed, leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) respectively, are on India’s most-wanted list and are also sanctioned under the UN 1267 ISIL and Al-Qaida blacklist.
Singh stated that if Pakistan genuinely intends to pursue dialogue, it should begin by handing over these figures. “It would be in Pakistan's interest to uproot the nurseries of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Premier Sharif had addressed the issue at a trilateral summit in Azerbaijan with the leaders of Türkiye and Azerbaijan, Leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev.
During the summit, Sharif expressed Pakistan’s desire for “peace in the region,” suggesting that achieving it necessitates “talks on the table” regarding the long-disputed Kashmir territory.
The Kashmir conflict has persisted between India and Pakistan since their separation from British rule in 1947.
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