New Delhi:
Pakistan got out of Foreign-Secretary-level talks with India on Thursday saying it does not like to be "sermoned" on terrorism and that they knew how to deal with it.
Salman Bashir, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary, said that 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, on whom India handed over a dossier during the talks, does not speak for the State or government of Pakistan or the people of the country and that talks could not be predicated on one individual. He said the Indian dossier on Saeed was "more of literature than evidence".
The top Pakistani diplomat said after the one-and-a-half-hour long meeting with his Indian counterpart that his country did not believe in "cosmetic engagement" and did not want India to "lecture" them by demanding that Pakistan should "do this or that".
Accusing India of portraying Pakistan as the source of terrorism, Bashir said Pakistan does not like to be "sermoned" on terrorism and that they knew how to deal with it.
"If you keep saying that Pakistan is a source of all your troubles, I am sorry, it is short-sightedness," he said.
He said Pakistan strongly pitched for resumption of the composite dialogue with India saying it was "unfair, unrealistic and counter-productive" to allow the issue of terrorism to stall the process of improving relations between the two countries.
Pakistan, Bashir said, looked forward to reversing the "tide of regression" that has taken place in the relationship between the neighbours after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Bashir also said the core issue remained Jammu and Kashmir and expressed willingness to address and resolve outstanding issues of Siachen and Sir Creek which he believed were "do-able".
Both Rao and Bashir held separate press meets after their three-and-a-half hour one-to-one and delegation-level talks. While Rao said in response to a question that Kashmir figured briefly in the talks, Bashir disagreed saying it was discussed "extensively".
"It is unfair, unrealistic and counter-productive to make issue of terrorism in a generic way and stall the process of overall relations between both the countries," Bashir said.
"To create optics of dialogue without substance means we are not taking (the) relationship seriously or dealing with (the) issues seriously," he said.
The top diplomat said his country does not believe in "cosmetic engagement" and did not want India to "lecture" them by demanding that Pakistan should "do this or that". He was of the view that there was a "huge gap between expectations and mistrust" that exists between both the countries.
Bashir also said, "One cannot be really dismissive about the issue of Kashmir and any effort to be dismissive to the issue will not be helpful...Pakistan will continue to support politically, diplomatically and morally the struggle of Kashmiri people."
He complimented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the Indian leader has a vision for a peaceful and prosperous South Asia.
Bashir said both the countries should be on a "cooperative mood".
Reacting to Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir's statement that India was 'lecturing', Government sources have told NDTV that Indo-Pak talks were cordial, but Pakistan briefing was acrimonious. It said Pakistan briefing was full of point scoring.