Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday made India's stand clear on the possible resumption of talks with Pakistan, saying "talks and terrorism can't go hand in hand."
"I think our government's policy has been quite clear and concise. We've made no bones about the fact that talks and terrorism can't go hand in hand. Pakistan needs to curb menace of terrorism," he said on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's "arrogant" and "negative" comment.
India on Friday called off proposed meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
It was supposed to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, which will conclude on September 30, but India cancelled it citing the "brutal" killing of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as for releasing postal stamps "glorifying" Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter with the security forces on July 8 2016.
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Earlier today, Pakistan PM termed India's response to "his call for resumption of peace dialogue" between the two countries "arrogant" and "negative".
Reacting to Khan's comments, Rawat said Pakistan first "needs to curb menace of terrorism" before the resumption of peace talks.
"We need to take stern action to avenge the barbarism that terrorists and the Pakistan Army have been carrying out. Yes,it's time to give it back to them in the same coin, not resorting to similar kind of barbarism. But I think the other side must also feel the same pain," the General added.
On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs on said that minister Sushma Swaraj will meet her Pakistani counterpart during the UN General Assembly. The ministry added that this does not imply a resumption of dialogue between the two countries and said it is “just a meeting”.
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“Even now after so many years, we don’t have any official communication from Pakistani government that they are willing to consider this matter,” Minister of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said.
