Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh on Monday lashed out at Pakistan for sponsoring terror. Interacting with the media along the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Smart Border Management’ organised by industry body FICCI, Singh accused Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan of being puppet of the army.
“Did you all expect a change? The question is that he was propped up by the Army. Let us wait and watch. Question remains whether he will remain under Army control or not,” responded the minister to a question on the new Pakistani government’s approach to terror sanctuaries on its soil. Singh’s sharp comments though come just weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialled Imran Khan to congratulate him on his election victory and wrote a letter soon after his oath-taking ceremony.
United States had recently welcomed the positive approach between the two bitter neighbours.
The junior minister also reiterated the government’s stated position of ‘talks on terror can happen but talks and terror cannot go hand in hand’. “Our policy is very clear that dialogue will happen provided the environment is made conducive,” Singh said when asked about possibility of a dialogue window opening with new government in Islamabad.
Delhi continues to boycott the SAARC summit which Islamabad is to host, even as India and Pakistan armies for the first time undertook joint military exercise under SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) framework recently.
Meanwhile, Singh also clarified that no formal proposal has been received from Pakistan regarding opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
The two governments have been passing the ball in each other’s court even as Punjab Minister Navjot Sidhu wrote a letter to Sushma Swaraj asking the Indian side to take up on Pakistan’s positive intent displayed on the matter. Union Minister Harsimrat Badal also wrote to Swaraj seeking clarity on status of bilateral discussions on the issue. “There is no proposal from Pakistan yet. This issue has been going on for a very long time. There is nothing that has come about yet,” V K Singh clarified today.
