'Terrorism and dialogue cannot go together' - India on talks with Pakistan
New Delhi has urged Islamabad to "hand over" terrorists and vacate the "occupied" part of Kashmir
India has reiterated that "terrorism and dialogue cannot go together" in response to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's remark that Islamabad is ready for dialogue with its neighbor.
Speaking at a press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal underscored the country's unchanged position on engagement with Islamabad.
"And as far as the issue of terrorism is concerned, any discussion with Pakistan will focus on the list of terrorists we had provided to them some years ago - they should hand them over to us."
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday echoed that stance, insisting that Pakistan must hand over designated terrorists, including Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, the respective leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT), "if it is serious about talks." Both men are designated as terrorists in India but are also on the United Nations (UN) 1267 ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
"It would be in Pakistan's interest to uproot the nurseries of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands," Singh said.
Speaking earlier this week at a Pakistan-Trkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Azerbaijan alongside presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev, Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif said his country wants "peace in the region," which requires "talks on the table" on Kashmir, a region that has been claimed by both countries ever since their independence from Britain in 1947.
"I have said in all earnest that if India wants to talk on countering terrorism in sincerity of purpose, Pakistan would be willing to talk to India on this issue as well," Sharif was quoted by The Dawn newspaper as saying.
Commenting on Kashmir, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that the issue would be resolved bilaterally when Pakistan vacates the part of the region which it holds "illegally and unlawfully."
The statements come after New Delhi launched military action against targets in Pakistan, which it labeled as "terrorist camps." The operation was a response to the April 22 massacre of 26 people in Pahalgam, in India's union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist organization.
READ MORE: How Moscow's legendary S-400 missiles helped India outgun Pakistan
Islamabad denied any involvement in the attack, with Pakistani top officials claiming the country was itself a "victim of terrorism." India insisted that it only targeted locations linked with terrorist organizations, and not Pakistani military or civilian targets.
Islamabad, however, accused Delhi of targeting civilians. It later retaliated by attacking Indian military sites, leading to further escalation by both countries. After a brief but intense conflict, a ceasefire was announced on May 10.
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