Pakistan 'glorifies killers'

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday slammed Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, accusing it of harbouring terrorists and "masking malevolence with duplicity".

Denying the neighbouring nation's charge that India was shying away from talks, Swaraj said it was impossible to speak to a nation where terrorist Hafiz Saeed roams freely proclaimed.

"We have not sabotaged negotiations with Pakistan. We began talks with them because we believed it necessary. They were stalled only because of Pakistan's own behaviour," she said.

To drive home her point, Sushma Swaraj recounted how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited all heads of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to his swearing-in ceremony in 2014.

"We have always preferred the peace option. Even after Imran Khan came to power in Pakistan, we accepted their request for talks. But within hours, they killed three of our policemen in Kashmir."

"Pakistan glorifies killers, refuses to see the blood of innocents, and then throws the dust of deceit on India to cover its own guilt," she said.

Her comments came as Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said war with India is not an option for his country to resolve disputes.

In an interview to Al-Jazeera television, Qureshi said the new government had inherited strained relations with two key countries — India and the United States — and was working to improve ties with both.

His comment came as Indian Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday hinted that New Delhi is prepared to strike across borders.

Prior to Singh's statement, Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat had said that it was time for another surgical strike, according to NDTV. "I believe there is a need for one more action (surgical strike). But I would not want to disclose how we want to do it," he told India Today in an interview.

On US-Pakistan ties, Qureshi said Pakistan wanted friendly relations with the US, while exercising its option to cultivate relations with China and others.

"We want the US to be friends with Pakistan. We recognise that the US is an important global power, and they will continue to be a military, technological and economic power in the foreseeable future," he said.