First the Pakistan Army killed five Indian jawans and now its Government has flatly refused any hand in the cross-border raid in Poonch, but unmindful of the killing and snub, and oblivious of the wave of anger sweeping across the nation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sideline of the UN general assembly next month in New York.
The Government has refused to confirm or deny the possibility of the Manmohan-Nawaz meeting in the changed scenario, but the thrust of “diplomacy” espoused by Congress leaders as well as by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid clearly showed that the PM was not ready to deviate from his pro-dialogue policy with Pakistan.
While Manmohan Singh has so far neither spoken a word on the ‘raid’ nor has he spelled his stand on talk with Sharif, Congress spokesman PC Chacko said that all issues between the two countries could only be solved across the talks table. “It is not through war that we are going to solve the problems, but through discussion and dialogue. So, the Indian PM and Pakistan PM (Nawaz Sharif) will be meeting (in New York),” Chacko said.
However, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told a news channel that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will the final call on his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
The Opposition feels that Defence Minister AK Antony’s failure to hold Pakistan responsible for the killing of the Indian jawans was a deliberate move to keep the dialogue process on the track.
“I hold that what the raksha mantri has said in the House (on Tuesday) is intended only to exonerate Pakistan government and absolve it of the responsibility of killing five Indian soldiers,” Veteran BJP leader lK Advani told reporters, adding, “I have a feeling that the government wants to continue talks with Pakistan”.
Opposing the talks, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley demanded there should be no dialogue between India and Pakistan. “There is no atmosphere for talks. You (Government) are enthusiastic about the talks, but people think otherwise. You cannot have attacks and talks at the same time,” he said.
Strongly condemning the raid, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters that “there should be no talks with Pakistan until they keep the assurance given to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 6, 2004. There should be no talks at any level, especially at the level of the Prime Minister.”
Parliament witnessed a political storm over Antony’s statement on the loC killing with an aggressive Opposition accusing him of giving a “clean chit” to Pakistan Army. Both the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were repeatedly adjourned before being adjourned for the day at 3 PM without transacting any substantive business.
Antony, who has been under fire since Tuesday for saying that “terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform”, maintained in the Rajya Sabha that his statement was based on “whatever information” he had.
He said he would get back to the House if he got more details about the incident in Poonch after the visit of Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh. BJP members, however, continued to target him and demanded apology from him for giving an “escape route” to Pakistan to deny involvement of its Army in the incident.
Meanwhile, Pakistan categorically denied involvement of its Army in the cross-border raid during a DGMOs meet. The two DGMOs lt General Vinod Bhatia and Major General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed discussed the situation for the second consecutive day on Wednesday and while denying its involvement in the killing, Pakistan protested the Indian military action in Uri sector where two Pakistani soldiers were reportedly wounded in cross-border firing.
India, however, denied the charge and maintained that its troops retaliated in Uri and Naugam sectors in North Kashmir when their positions came under fire from loC on Tuesday afternoon and termed the firing as a ceasefire violation by Pakistan. Incidentally, Pakistan has violated ceasefire on the loC more than 60 times in the last seven months, which is 80 per cent more than last year.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to review the implications of the attack on India-Pakistan relations on Thursday.
Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who could not visit the Poonch sector on Wednesday due to inclement weather, was briefed by top commanders in Nagrota, Northern Command about the ground situation. Singh will brief Defence Minister A K Antony and he in turn will inform Parliament about the factual position on Thursday.