Imran Khan slams India's ‘arrogant’ decision to call off rare meeting
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says he is “disappointed” with the Indian government for its decision to call off a planned meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries, denouncing New Delhi’s move as “arrogant and negative.”
“Disappointed at the arrogant and negative response by India to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue,” Khan tweeted on Saturday.
He further hit out at Indian government officials who opposed change.
“However, all my life I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture,” he wrote.
New Delhi on Friday pulled the plug on a meeting between its foreign minister and her Pakistani counterpart set for next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, just one day after saying it would go ahead.
The foreign ministry in New Delhi said its decision was to protest the killing of Indian security personnel in Indian-controlled Kashmir and a Pakistani postage stamp it said was “glorifying” an anti-India fighter who Indian forces killed in the disputed Himalayan region last year.
Islamabad immediately rejected New Delhi’s charges as excuses to enable it to avoid holding talks before national elections next year.
“The reasons cited by the Indian side for the decision to cancel the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, within 24 hours of its public confirmation, are entirely unconvincing,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement.
Tensions are high in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where the Muslim-majority population stages regular protests against the Indian rule, demanding autonomy from New Delhi or a merger with Pakistan.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of supporting pro-independence fighters, an allegation rejected by the Pakistani government. Islamabad, in turn, is critical of India’s heavy military deployment to Kashmir, some 500,000 soldiers, and its crackdown against the region’s Muslim population.
Armed battles between Indian forces and militants over the years have killed nearly 70,000 people, mostly civilians.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both since the two partitioned and gained independence from Britain in 1947. The two countries have fought three wars over the disputed territory. Despite a 2003 ceasefire agreement, sporadic skirmishes continue in Kashmir.
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