ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday could not digest the blunt stance on Kashmir by his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and left the SAARC conference without attending the last session.
Rajnath Singh felt displeased after Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan candidly advocated the issue of peace in Indian-held Kashmir during addressing a one-day meeting of home ministers from countries belonging to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
Nisar at one point outrightly said that there is a difference between terrorism and struggle for freedom probably referring to the uprising in Kashmir.
“The violence being committed against the innocent people of Indian Kashmir is open terrorism,” Nisar said during his extempore address as Pakistan’s interior minister.
The Indian delegation led by Rajnath Singh left the meeting and did not talk to media at the airport as well.
According to multiple media reports, a strong stance of Pakistan over regional peace and especially Kashmir made it difficult for Rajnath Singh to carry on with the meeting and he took his way to New Delhi.
Earlier, the minister left his seat of speaker to address all issues point by point raised by home ministers of the member countries.
“We have always wished to work in close cooperation with all our neighbours and we believe all pending issues can be addressed through dialogue.”
Khan went on to claim that Pakistan suffered heavy losses in the fight against terrorism and the country condemned every single incident of terror which claimed innocent lives.
The interior minister’s remarks come in the backdrop of escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals over unrest in disputed Kashmir.
As per Indian media reports, the ongoing strain in Indo-Pak relations was evident at the SAARC interior/home ministers’ conference when home minister Rajnath Singh came face-to-face with Chaudhary Nisar for the first time the two leaders barely shook hands.
New Delhi on the other hand alleged that Pakistan blacked out Rajnath Singh’s address at the SAARC home ministers’ meet.
