Call back High Commissioner in Islamabad, says BJP to govt

New Delhi, Jan 12: With reports of ceasefire violations coming in almost every day by Pakistan, the main opposition party has urged the government to call back India's High Commissioner in Islamabad and suspend bilateral talks.

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh pointed out that despite Delhi repeatedly trying to "maintain better relations", Islamabad "violated the Geneva Convention" on Jan 8 when Pakistani troops beheaded two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.

There has been nationwide outrage over the killing of the two jawans and mutilating their bodies. Sections of the media and some military experts have demanded strong action against Pakistan. Former foreign minister Natwar Singh is among those who feel that the UPA government should be doing more in the face of such grave provocation.

Rajnath Singh holds a similar opinion. "The Indian Government has failed to register a strong protest against in this matter. I want India to stop all confidence building measures with Pakistan because such kind of gruesome act by the Pakistani Army shows it doesn't want a cordial relation with New Delhi. To register strong protest, India must recall its envoy in Islamabad and bring down its diplomatic relations," the BJP leader said.

According to Rajnath's party colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the fact that Pakistan has harboured a number of terror groups shows that terrorists are actually dictating terms to the government in Islamabad.

"India should respond effectively as it is the right time to respond to Pakistan's nefarious activities. International community has to also understand that terrorist factories are running in Pakistan, which is a cause of grave concern for the entire world," Naqvi stressed.

Another BJP leader Balbir Punj noted that some Hurriyat leaders recently visited both the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief in Pakistan. The separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir is "nothing but an extension of Pakistan's terror policy within India," Punj added.

Congress spokesperson Sandip Dikshit slammed Hurriyat leaders for meeting Saeed and Salahuddin in Dec 2012. "I think that was an unfortunate incident. People going to Pakistan is not a problem with us but if the groups from here go and breach trust and meet the agencies of people in Pakistan who are particularly anti-Indian, that needs to be stopped," Dikshit said.

OneIndia News