New Delhi : In a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a day he had a ‘breakthrough’ bilateral meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Ufa Russia, the Congress has charged that his Pakistan policy ‘lacks vision and has no roadmap’.
Prefacing his critical observations about the meet-ing, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma stressed that his party has been consistent in its position that there has to be constructive engagement with Pakistan that meets the essential condition of dismantling the terrorists’ syndicate and infrastructure, ban on terrorists outfits named and identified by India, and ensures punishment for the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack.
“But today’s meeting is neither historic nor a breakthrough… It is a diluted rehash of India’s past positions and commitments extracted from Pakistan,” he said.
Pointing out that right from the time Modi has been sworn-in his foreign policy has worked in fits and starts, Sharma said that there has been “no clarity, coherence and consistency” in the government’s policy to deal with the neighbouring country, and that all the steps taken by the prime minister have been “ill-advised”.
The Congress leader was particularly severe on the joint statement issued after the summit at Ufa in the context of taking action against those involved in the Mumbai terror attacks. Sharma added: “All evidence has been given to Pakistan in the dossier which is adequate to prosecute and convict those involved. This (joint) statement is a departure and dilution. We would like to ask the PM why he conceded that we have not given evidence. This justifies Pakistan’s intransigence on the trial of 26/11 perpetrators there.”
“This consensus was violated during the UPA regime by the BJP on several occasions. We are not saying that we are breaking the consensus; we are for talks; we are for engagement. I am only pointing out the contradictions, the lack of coherence, clarity and the roadmap of the Prime Minister and his government. Its fits and starts foreign policy and their engagement with Pakistan is what we have objection to,” he said while addressing a question if the time honoured policy of keeping foreign affairs out of the domain of political rivalry had been given up.
The Congress leader added that when in opposition the BJP had taken a strident position on India’s engagement or talks with Pakistan. “That approach too was lacking in maturity and any understanding of diplomacy and engagement with neighbours, particularly the threats the PM had himself given on more than one occasion,” he said.
“The country is in the dark as to what assurance the government has got from Pakistan,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister has not disclosed as to what Sharif or Chinese President Xi Jinping told him on Beijing’s support to Islamabad on the Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi issue in the UN.
Taking a dig at Modi, he said “event organisation and image building is definitely not smart diplomacy”. Sharma was also critical of the government voting against Palestine on a resolution in the UN.
“India cannot make such departures, the PM’s stand has jeopardised our relationship with Palestine and other Middle East countries,” he said, adding that the move has not gone down well not only with Palestinian leaders but with other leaders of Middle East.
