The sparring between New Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir at the United Nations continued with India on Wednesday taking umbrage at Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's comments during his speech at the General Assembly as “untenable and unacceptable.”
India also let it be known that Mr. Qureshi's “hawkish” comments stymied attempts to negotiate another meeting with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on the sidelines of the General Assembly. With both Ministers having covered some ground during their earlier meeting in New York, India wanted to consolidate this progress with another round before both Foreign Ministers got together in New Delhi in November.
However, the chances of a second meeting began diminishing after Mr. Qureshi expressed his country's “grave concern” over the prevailing situation in “India-occupied Kashmir” and his “strong condemnation” of the “brutality” by the Indian security forces. “Mr. Qureshi's comments spoiled the atmosphere. Pakistan should know that India has a vibrant democracy whose Constitutional mechanisms take care of all alleged human rights violations,” official sources said.
Sources here also referred to Mr. Krishna's “genuine sense of disappointment over the unacceptable references” to Jammu and Kashmir. However, they played down queries on Pakistan becoming the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency despite its “proliferation record.” “They have been elected earlier,” said the sources.
They also said Mr. Qureshi was welcome to visit India during the Commonwealth Games although the practice was to have Sports Ministers represent their countries. However, there was no fixed criteria and Mr. Qureshi's presence in the country, along with other heads of government and Ministers, was “welcome to India.”
