India cancels talks with Pakistan

The combo shows Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, left, and Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. (AFP)

• India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson pointed to the killings of Indian security personnel by “Pakistan entities” in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent release of series of 20 postage stamps by Pakistan “glorifying terrorists”
• Modi government under pressure from opposition to respond to killing of policemen by militants

DELHI: India called off high-level talks with Pakistan within 24 hours of their announcement. On Thursday New Delhi had accepted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s offer of talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries. India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi were to meet at the United Nation in New York next week. However, the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi said on Friday that since the announcement, two “deeply disturbing” developments had taken place that led India to call off the meeting.
Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, pointed to the killings of Indian security personnel by “Pakistan entities” in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent release of series of 20 postage stamps by Pakistan “glorifying terrorists.” 
He said: “It’s obvious that behind Pakistan’s proposal for talks to make a fresh beginning the evil agenda of Pakistan stands exposed and true face of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan has been revealed to world in his first few months in the office.”
Doubts began to be raised yesterday about the talks when the brutal killing of a Border Security Force (BSF) came to light at the international border.
Modi’s government further came under pressure after the opposition Congress party questioned its Pakistan policy.
“On September 19, 2018, USA clearly stated that Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba are main contributors to terror, and are linked to Al-Qaeda,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. “The government has betrayed each and every part of Jammu and Kashmir. The mutilations are an unspeakable horror,” he added.