Call off talks with Pakistan, says BJP

NEW DELHI - India should call off its proposed talks with Pakistan at the level of foreign secretaries following the bombing in Pune that killed nine people, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Sunday.

“Terror and talks cannot co-exist. When terror threatens India, then not talking is also a legitimate diplomatic option,” BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in New Delhi Feb 25. This follows India’s decision to go back on its earlier insistence of not talking to Pakistan till the masterminds of the Mumbai terror attack were punished.

Jaitley accused the Indian government of taking an unexplained “U turn” on its negotiating stand in the peace dialogue with Pakistan.

“So (long) as Pakistan continues building an infrastructure for terror against India, and till such time that there is no cooperation in the context of 26/11, we cannot talk to Pakistan,” he said, referring to the attack on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists that left 166 people dead.

“The composite dialogue cannot proceed,” Jaitley added.

The BJP leader also found fault with the government’s announcement to allow Kashmiris who crossed over to Pakistan in the early 1990s to return to India, saying it would “legitimize infiltration” of terrorists.

He called it, along with the decision to talk to Pakistan, as “misconceived and adventurous”.

“It is possible the central government is thinking of softening borders. Today’s situation does not permit this,” he added.

The BJP condemned Saturday’s bomb blast in Pune which killed nine people and injured 57. The blast took place in the German Bakery eatery.

This bomb blast proves that those inimical to India are continuing their war against India… What happened in Pune is a grim reminder about the prejudice of our security system and the adventurous path we are walking, Jaitley said.