KASHMIR DISPUTE: India summons Pak envoy over phone call to separatist
India's Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood late on Wednesday night and lodged a strong protest against Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's phone call to a moderate Kashmir separatist leader saying such action tantamount to a "direct interference" in India's internal affairs.
The High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned by the Indian Foreign Secretary at 10:30pm in connection with the telephone conversation initiated by Qureshi with separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Jammu and Kashmir state on Tuesday.
Gokhale conveyed to Sohail Mahmood "India's condemnation in the strongest terms of this latest brazen attempt by Pakistan to subvert India's unity and to violate our sovereignty and territorial integrity by none other than the Pakistan Foreign Minister," India's External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"The Indian Foreign Secretary conveyed that this deplorable act has violated all norms for the conduct of international relations even by Pakistan's own standards. The Pakistan Foreign Minister's actions are tantamount to direct interference in the internal affairs of its neighbour," it said.
According to the statement, the foreign secretary "underscored that by this action Pakistan has confirmed yet again that it officially abets and encourages individuals associated with terrorism and anti-India activities."
The Pakistani Foreign Minister's telephonic conversation with Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was viewed by New Delhi as an extremely unusual action.
Media reports from Pakistan quoted Shah Mehmood Qureshi as telling the Mirwaiz about Pakistan's efforts to internationalize the Kashmir issue.
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