External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday asserted that the ground level tensions had to be resolved first and this was not the right time to hold talks with Pakistan or even to decide when the talks should be held and to what extent.
Five Indian soldiers were killed in a firing on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kasmir’s Poonch sector this month.
Mr. Khurshid said firing still continued. "Till a solution is reached for all these problems, there is no use discussing whether or not we should hold talks [with Pakistan]."
There were certain ground rules and mechanisms that had to be followed if talks were to be effective. "If the ground rules are missing and there is tension then entering into talks becomes impossible. We should first handle the situation at hand. Only after that will we discuss further. Our decision, which will be taken after the situation has been completely understood, will be in the national interest."
