Indo-Pak joint statement weakens our stand: BJP

A day after India and Pakistan issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the foreign secretary-level talks, the BJP alleged that the Gov...

A day after India and Pakistan issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the foreign secretary-level talks, the BJP alleged that the Government had weakened India’s approach on bilateral issues. The BJP fielded former foreign minister and party spokesman Yashwant Sinha to take on the UPA over the issue.

Sinha said the January 6 joint statement of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and then prime minister A.B. Vajpayee had placed the onus on Pakistan to prevent violence, hostility and terrorism. He added that it also included an assurance from Musharraf on not permitting any part of the territory under Pakistan’s control to be used to support terrorism in any manner.

‘‘We feel this issue stands diluted in the joint statement of June 28,’’ Sinha said.

Story continues below this ad

The commitment to principles and purposes of the UN charter and the determination to implement the Simla agreement occurring in the same sentence was termed by Sinha as ‘‘intriguing’’. He said this could offer Islamabad a route to bring in UN resolutions on J-K.

The former foreign minister said the most disconcerting development was the manner in which various Hurriyat leaders were ‘‘encouraged’’ to interact with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar.

Terming the Pakistan spokesman’s statement ‘‘what will satisfy Pakistan will ultimately satisfy Kashmiris’’ as preposterous, Sinha said Pakistan ‘‘cannot be allowed to represent the wishes of the people of J-K.’’

The BJP leader said the omission of any reference to the Lahore declaration was a matter of deep concern. He said: ‘‘Surely, India-Pakistan relations have not been frozen after Simla.’’