Opposition parties have criticised the Government’s decision to call off secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
The Congress asked the Centre why, in the first place, the Government decided to resume top-level talks with the Pakistan.
“The question is why they started it in the first place. They have followed an opaque and incoherent foreign policy towards Pakistan,” Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said.
The former Commerce Minister reminded the BJP that it had taken extreme views on the issue of dialogues with Pakistan and urged the BJP to take a consistent and coherent policy on Indo-Pak relations.
“BJP and Modi had taken an extreme view on our relations with Pakistan and had been castigating the UPA every now and then. Composite dialogue was not restored after India suspended it after Mumbai terror attacks. We wonder what was the basis and understanding due to which the decision to initiate such a dialogue was taken,” he added.
The Left parties termed the decision “inexplicable”. “Whenever some Pakistani leaders come, they (separatists) meet them and they do so in our country itself. And this is not possible without the permission of our government,” CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said.
He asked the Centre why it permitted the meeting first. “And after giving the permission, to call off the talks is inexplicable. It can’t be understood,” Yechury added.