Published 16:52 IST, September 21st 2018
EXCLUSIVE | India calls off talks with Pakistan at UNGA after border barbarism: Sources
Following a national outrage over the government's decision to meet with Pakistan on the sidelines of UNGA, the top sources in the government have indicated that the Centre has called off the talks. The deep rooted government sources have told Republic TV that EAM Sushma Swaraj won't be shaking hands with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as a consequence of barbarism perpetrated by Pakistan along the border.
- India News
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Update at 5.24 pm: MEA confirms Republic news-break, spokesperson says, "The latest brutal killing of our soldiers confirmed that Pakistan will not change. Any conversations with Pakistan in this environment is meaningless."
The MEA also confirmed that the killing of Indian soldiers led to cancellation of this meeting, adding, "real face of Imran Khan is out in the beginning of his tenure".
Following a national outrage over the government's decision to meet with Pakistan on the sidelines of UNGA, top sources in the government have indicated that the Centre has called off the talks. The deep rooted government sources have told Republic TV that EAM Sushma Swaraj won't be shaking hands with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as a consequence of barbarity perpetrated by Pakistan along the border.
Earlier on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had confirmed that on the request of Pakistani side, Swaraj will meet with Qureshi on the sidelines of UNGA. The MEA also insisted that this meeting shouldn’t be confused with a dialogue with Pakistan.
“I can confirm that on the request of Pakistani side, Sushma Swaraj will meet Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of UNGA. This shouldn’t be confused with dialogue, This doesn’t change India’s stand on Pakistan and terrorism,” said the MEA spokesperson.
“This does not indicate we will change something in our policy regarding terrorism,” he added.
On Thursday, Republic TV had accessed Imran Khan's letter to PM Modi, requesting a meeting between EAM Swaraj and Pakistan Finance Minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled to be held starting September 25.
A massive national outrage erupted after Pakistani troops slit the throat of a BSF jawan after fatally shooting him along the international border (IB) near Jammu.
The brutal and "unprecedented" incident that took place in the Ramgarh sector had prompted the security forces to issue a "high alert" across the IB and Line of Control (LoC) even as the Border Security Force (BSF) has lodged a strong complaint with its counterparts -- the Pakistan Rangers.
Days after that, bullet ridden bodies of J-K policemen were recovered from Shopian. The policemen were abducted by terrorists on Thursday homes from their residences.
Updated 17:28 IST, September 21st 2018
