Pak HC-Hurriyat meet proves nothing has changed between India-Pak: Shiv Sena

Backing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's recent statement that nothing has changed between India and Pakistan, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said the meeting between the Pakistan High Commissioner and Hurriyat leaders yesterday in the national capital was concrete proof that the ties between the two nations remained hostile.

"I just read Sushma's statement where she is saying that nothing has changed on ground between India and Pakistan and it is true and the example of that happened yesterday. On our soil, in the national capital, under our noses the Pakistan High Commissioner is inviting people who want to wage a war on India and we are simply watching the show," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI.

He asserted that if the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan had done something similar then his office would have been sealed and he would have been sent back to India in cuffs.

"We have been watching this mutiny for 50 years and the way they have been rebelling against India in Delhi. Yes, I approve of talks between the two countries but the nation is pained which an incident as this happens," Raut added.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Swaraj admitted that "nothing has changed on the ground" between India and Pakistan and said while it was not possible to give the assurance of an "uninterruptible" dialogue, the government had no intention of being provoked by those who want halt the bilateral talks between the two nations.

We want to ensure we are not provoked by saboteurs who want to stop the dialogue process. We have elevated the level of terrorism. Now talks related to terrorism will happen at the NSA level, the rest will be taken up during secretary-level talks," Swaraj said briefing the Lok Sabha on her recent visit to Pakistan.

Later in the evening, a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) met Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit and discussed Swaraj's recent meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

According to an APMC release, Hurriyat leaders Peer Saifullah and Altaf Ahmad Shah discussed 'Kashmir policy' with Basit.

"The Hurriyat delegation also handed over a message of their chairman Syed Ali Geelani to Basit, wherein he has stated that Pakistan should continue to maintain consistency and firmness over its Kashmir policy, and should play an active role in highlighting human rights violations committed by the Indian forces in Jammu & Kashmir in international forums," the release stated.