Pakistan’s commitment to terrorism as an instrument of State policy has not abated one bit, Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told world leaders at the UN on Saturday and asked them how India can pursue talks with a nation that “glorifies killers” and allows the Mumbai attack mastermind to “roam free” with impunity.

In a hard-hitting retort to Pakistan, Swaraj said India has made many efforts to hold talks with Islamabad and the only reason New Delhi has called off dialogue is because of Pakistan’s behaviour. 

“We are accused of sabotaging the process of talks. This is a complete lie. We believe that talks are the only rational means to resolve the most complex of disputes,” she said in her address to the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly here.

“Talks with Pakistan have begun many times. If they stopped, it was only because of Pakistan’s behaviour,” she said.

The minister told the world body that after assuming power, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting a meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers on the margins of the General Assembly. India accepted the proposal but, within hours of its acceptance, news came that terrorists had killed three Indian jawans, she said.

“Does this indicate a desire for dialogue,” Swaraj asked.

She noted that various governments in India over the years have tried the peace option with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Modi, by inviting the Heads of the SAARC nations to his swearing in ceremony in 2014, had begun his attempt for dialogue on his very first day in office. Swaraj said she too had in December 2016, personally gone to Islamabad and offered a comprehensive bilateral dialogue. 

“But soon after, Pakistan-sponsored terrorists attacked our air force base in Pathankot on January 2. Please explain to me how we could pursue talks in the midst of terrorist bloodshed,” she asked.

The demon of terrorism now stalks the world, at a faster pace somewhere, a slower pace elsewhere, but life-threatening everywhere, Swaraj said.

“In our case, terrorism is bred not in some faraway land, but across our border to the west. Our neighbour’s expertise is not restricted to spawning grounds for terrorism; it is also an expert in trying to mask malevolence with verbal duplicity,” she said.