Urging the government to continue bilateral dialogue with Pakistan, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the cancellation of NSA-level talks was unfortunate.
He said the government proved that it was weak while handling serious diplomatic negotiations. He asked the government why it was not made clear to Pakistan that talks would not take place if Pakistan holds talks with separatists.
Yechury said the tension could be de-escalated only through a composite dialogue between the two countries. “Last time, foreign secretary-level dialogue was cancelled on same issue that some separatist leaders were called by Pakistan embassy (for talks). So, India should have had made it clear (in advance) that the NSA-level talks would not take place if Pakistan held talks with separatists,” he said.
He said such pre-conditions were not part of the Ufa statement. “We did not hear anything about this condition from Ufa, where the NSA-level talks were agreed to. This needs preparation. Whoever understands a little bit of diplomacy, knows importance of preparation before talks. It is clear, there was a weakness in this (Ufa preparation),” Yechury added.
The CPI(M) central committee said it is only through a composite dialogue encompassing all issues and disputes between the two countries.