India rules out talks with pak; demands handing over known terrorists - the statesman

India rules out talks with pak; demands handing over known terrorists - the statesman

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Asserting that terrorism and talks cannot go together, India on Thursday demanded Pakistan to hand over known terrorists, whose records and names had been given to the neighbouring country


some years ago, to it. New Delhi also asserted that any engagement between India and Pakistan has to be bilateral. Advertisement Addressing his weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson


Randhir Jaiswal said, “As far as our engagement with Pakistan is concerned, our stand has been clear. Any engagement has to be bilateral. We would like to reiterate that terrorism and talks


cannot go together. They (Pakistan) need to hand over to India, known terrorists, whose records and list we submitted to them some years ago.” Advertisement He made it clear that talks on


Jammu and Kashmir will be held only after Pakistan vacates PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and hands over the territory to India. Jaiswal further said as far as the Indus Water Treaty (IWT)


is concerned, it will remain in abeyance till the time Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support to cross-border terrorism. “Just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, terror


and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, and water and blood cannot flow together,” the MEA spokesperson said. The cessation of hostilities between India and


Pakistan came after India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’, launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The operation targeted nine terror camps in


Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), leading to intense clashes, including Pakistan’s attempted drone attacks on Indian cities along the International Border and Line of Control


(LoC) and shelling along the LoC. Advertisement