Srinagar, December 3: Stating that New Delhi’s rejection of the invitation to attend the proposed SAARC Summit in Islamabad and reiteration of the stand that talks cannot be held along with terrorist actions was Modi government’s return to its “no talks” stance, M Y Tarigami, the state secretary of CPI (M) has said that this approach has been in place for the past more than four years. Statement of Union Home minister Rajnath Singh that Jammu and Kashmir was not an issue is another reason to believe that Modi-Government’s flip-flop continues, Tarigami said in a press release.
“This has come just a few days after a ground-breaking ceremony of opening of Kartpur Corridor near the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib. The joint effort in preparing the Kartarpur Corridor had once again underlined the necessity for improving relations and cooperation between the two countries. It also highlighted the importance of developing people to people relations as a vital component of restoring normalcy and good neighborly relations. Even, Narendra Modi compared the Kartarpur corridor to the fall of the Berlin Wall and hoped it would act as a bridge between the two peoples,” Tarigami was quoted as saying by the press release.
He stressed that there was a need to open more cross-LoC travel and trade routes between divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir state. A similar arrangement on the pattern of Kartarpur corridor must be made for the pilgrims to Sharada Peeth, an important temple across the Line of Control, he added.
“The governments of the two countries must open trade routes on Jammu-Sialkot Chhamb-Jourian to Mirpur, Gurez-Astoor-Gilgit, Jhangar (Nowshera)-Mirpur and Kotli, Turtuk-Khapulu, Kargil- Skardu and Titwal-Chilhan (Across Neelam Valley). Dialogue, reconciliation and economic development is the need of the hour as violence has not achieved only death and destruction in the past seven decades,” he added.
He further added that the falling back on a hardline stance by the Modi government underscores its contradictory and self-defeating stand in its relations with Pakistan. That there is no consistency in India’s approach to Pakistan became evident once more recently, when in September this year, India accepted the new Pakistan government’s offer for a meeting of the two foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. That decision was rescinded within two days giving reasons which were difficult for anyone to understand.
“With its blinkered approach to relations with Pakistan which are dictated by its narrow partisan agenda, the Modi government is constricting its scope for strategic autonomy. What is required is resumption of the comprehensive dialogue while maintaining a firm stance on tackling terrorism,” he said adding that ‘Dialogue’ was the only option to resolve issues as wars, violence and ceasefire violations on borders have only resulted in death and destruction in the last seven decades. “The violent approach will neither benefit India, nor Pakistan and such approach always has a devastating effect on the people of J&K,” he added.
