New Delhi, January 30: India tonight lodged a protest against a telephone call reportedly initiated by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the Hurriyat Conference. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi Sohail Mahmood to convey India’s condemnation in the strongest terms of this “brazen attempt by Pakistan to subvert India’s unity”. This was an attempt to violate Indian ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity’ by none other than the Pakistan Foreign Minister, said Gokhale in his protest note.
The Foreign Secretary conveyed that this deplorable act had violated all norms for the conduct of international relations, even by Pakistan’s own standards.” The Pakistan Foreign Minister’s actions are tantamount to direct interference in the internal affairs of its neighbour,” said an MEA statement. The Foreign Secretary underscored that by this action Pakistan had confirmed yet again that it “officially abets and encourages individuals associated with terrorism and anti-India activities. It has exposed to the entire international community Pakistan’s duplicity in professing their desire for normal relations with India on the one hand, while openly inciting anti-India activities on the other,” the statement added.
Earlier today, the Mirwaiz had asked for talks involving India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris. “Kashmir dispute is a reality & so is the fact that all three parties have to be involved in its lasting resolution. No amount of denial can change either. GOI has to move beyond status quo &reach out to both Pakistan’s offer of talks &to Kashmiri’s plight,” he tweeted.
