India seeks ‘serious’ talks with Pakistan

New Delhi has called on Islamabad to show more seriousness in future dialogue, a day after Pakistan’s premier slammed India for stalling talks on Indian-administered Kashmir.

Addressing the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for focusing on the Kashmir dispute in his own UN speech a day earlier.

“I do want to hold bilateral talks with them, but it is Pakistan’s duty to come forward with all seriousness and create an atmosphere,” Modi said.

On Friday, Sharif criticized New Delhi for allegedly stalling hopes for resolving the six-decade-old Kashmir dispute by its withdrawal from foreign secretary-level talks scheduled to be held in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, in August.

India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh was due to travel to Islamabad for talks with her Pakistani counterpart, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhury, on August 25. However, India canceled the talks after Pakistan announced plans to consult with Kashmiri pro-independence figures ahead of the meeting.

New Delhi says Islamabad is engaged in a “proxy war” in Kashmir and sending militants to attack Indian forces. Pakistan, on the other hand, alleges that the Indian military violates the rights of Muslims in Kashmir.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire along the de facto border in 2003, and a year later launched talks aimed at brokering a regional peace. However, the process was suspended after over 160 people lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

GMA/HJL/SS