New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday sought to pick holes in the government's Pakistan policy, wondering why the Narendra Modi dispensation was accommodating Islamabad so much and agreeing to move at a pace convenient to it. Reacting to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement in Parliament on her recent visit to Pakistan, senior party spokesperson Anand Sharma said it indicated that the Modi dispensation was "bereft of a roadmap and a strategy on how to deal with Pakistan".
"Why is India accommodating Pakistan so much? Why are we agreeing to move at a pace comfortable to them?" he asked while speaking to reporters. He said that it was a matter of concern that the government was dealing with Islamabad in "fits and starts". Claiming that India seems to have accepted a position that it opposed in August, Sharma said there is a need to get some assurances from Islamabad.
He faulted that there was no mention of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and the expeditious trial of the Mumbai terror attacks accused, and also took exception to the statement making no reference about either cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan or the three attacks on the Indian Mission there. While dealing with Pakistan, he said, India should also move at a pace comfortable to Afghanistan.
"At the same time, Congress has always said that India and Pakistan must engage with each other. Dialogue is the only way forward," he said. Rejecting any "flip flop", Swaraj today asserted that the decision to re-start talks with Pakistan was based on "trust" and said the intent would be to have an "uninterrupted" dialogue process despite provocations by the "saboteurs", an apparent reference to terror groups.
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