The expectations weren’t very high anyway, but what may have fouled the atmosphere further were the differing perceptions on Burhan Wani’s killing in Kashmir.
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The home minister stressed on the need for an effective mechanism among member states to put in place effective measures so that those carrying out terrorist acts do not escape punishment and are extradited or prosecuted.
We all saw how Pakistan failed to maintain protocol and how it treated Home Minister, we are one in condemning it, said Sharad Yadav.
“Pakistan has taken and is taking steps to counter terrorist violence, and certainly focusing on those groups that threaten Pakistan or its stability”.
He said as South Asia “suffers from terrorism, India’s message is for peace and humanity and that terrorism is the biggest enemy of humanity”. Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has been friendly with Pakistan. India may now have to realign its position vis-à-vis Pakistan given its hostile attitude to New Delhi’s overtures. “One country’s terrorist can not be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone”, Rajnath Singh said.
Kashmiris burn a representation of an Indian flag as they chant slogans outside the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Singh also refused to express his disappointment at the behaviour of the Pakistani interior Minister, who hosted a lunch for the delegates, but then himself left from the venue.
His reference was to Pakistan terming as a “martyr” a pro-Pakistan rebel commander killed in Jammu and Kashmir, which triggered large scale unrest in the northern Indian state.
The Indian minister, who arrived in Islamabad on Thursday morning to attend the SAARC meeting, met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the latter’s office.
Addressing the SAARC meeting, Rajnath called for tough action against terrorism and countries supporting it, saying terrorists should not be glorified as “martyrs”.
Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they can face the law, the Home Minister said.
On the black out of his speech, he said that, “It is true that the Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not allowed to enter the conference hall”.
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Khan said he hoped the SAARC meeting could be a forum for “a lot of soul-searching on all sides”.
