File photo of Congress leader Amarinder Singh
The Congress today reminded the Narendra Modi government that there are "no short-cuts to
diplomatic processes" as India today called off the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan which was scheduled for next week.
"The BJP-led government has learnt it the hard way that there are no short-cuts to diplomatic processes particularly those having a long history," Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh said in a press release.
By cancelling the talks, India had conveyed a blunt message to Pakistan calling it "unacceptable" that Pakistan interfered in India's internal affairs by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh was to travel to Islamabad on August 25 to hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry, nearly two years after the India-Pakistan talks were stalled due to incidents along the Line of Control.
Mr Singh said that while it was a "diplomatic indiscretion" on part of Pakistan, "the Government of India also appeared not to have done its homework properly before deciding to go ahead with such high level talks."
While peace between the two countries is the paramount need of the hour, the NDA government must ensure that a peaceful posture is not taken to be any sort of weakness, he added.
"Unfortunately, the out of way bonhomie extended to the Pakistan leadership, despite killing of our soldiers along the border, besides attempts at infiltration and ceasefire violations appears to have been taken as weakness which the NDA government must address seriously and urgently," Mr Singh said in the press release.