Srinagar, Feb 25: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is not mandated to decide on talks with Pakistan, BJP’s national general secretary and point-person on Jammu and Kashmir Ram Madhav has said.
He said Chief Minister no doubt heads the alliance government with his party, but she “is not going to decide about talks with Pakistan”.
In an interview to ‘The Indian Express’, Madhav said: “Talking or not talking to Pakistan is not for the Jammu and Kashmir alliance to decide, but the government of India.
“Mehbooba-ji can have a view, because she feels that if the two governments talk to each other, there could be de-escalation of violence. But the alliance cannot take a view, its view is limited to the affairs of the state,” he said.
Madhav as per the interview said: “Having said that, there can be a view that talks are necessary for restoring peace along the LoC. This does not mean that Pakistan will get away with all the wrongdoing. If the CM feels India-Pakistan talks will help contain infiltration and bring peace in the Valley, allow her to have her view. But she is not going to decide it.”
