Congress to Centre: Tread cautiously on the extending hand of other nation

While endorsing Union Home Minster's Rajnath Singh's remark at the SAARC Home Minister's conference that 'terrorism should not be glorified or patronised' by a state Congress Party on Friday suggested that the Centre should thread cautiously in raising their hand of friendship with the other nation.

"The statement that the Home Minister gave yesterday at SAARC was correct and was a balanced statement, we should welcome it. It is good that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh now understand that their policy towards Pakistan was not correct," said Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.

"Not only with Pakistan, I can't even understand our foreign policy with any other nation," he added.

He later criticised the remark made by the Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and said it was not appropriate and that Islamabad was just trying to defend their stand on Kashmir.

"On the other hand the statement of Pakistan's Home Minster was not appropriate. Making such comments on any international conference is indicates lack of etiquette, it is baseless, they just tried to defend themselves," he said.

During his terse speech, on Thursday in Islamabad, Rajnath Singh launched a veiled attack on Pakistan, saying mere condemnation of terrorism and individual acts by terrorists is not enough.

He categorically stated that there can be no distinction between what is a good or bad terrorist. Singh said that the strongest action should be initiated not only against terrorists, but also against organisations, individuals and nations supporting terror.

Singh's speech was blacked out. Members of the Indian media, who had come from New Delhi to report on the conference, were not allowed to cover the speech. They were reportedly kept at a distance by Pakistani officials.

Some reports said that there was an aggressive verbal exchange between officials of the two sides over the issue. Only Pakistan state PTV was allowed to cover introductory speeches of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan. Even private Pakistani media was not allowed to cover the event.