Don't hold talks with Pakistan: BJP on soldiers' killing

The BJP Tuesday said India should not hold talks with Pakistan in the wake of the killings of five Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahnawaz Hussain said: "Talks with Pakistan should not be held if even one bullet is fired on the border... You can't have bullets being fired on the border and our soldiers being killed, and then hold talks side by side."

"The government should say there will be no talks, which will act as pressure on Pakistan," he told NDTV news channel.

He was speaking after BJP leaders met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and demanded that the government make a statement in the house.

"We should be allowed to speak. Yashwant Sinha should be allowed to speak on the matter," said Hussain.

Five Indian Army soldiers were killed by Pakistani troops who crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district late Monday.

India and Pakistan are to hold talks as part of their resumed dialogue later this month, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and new Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are to meet in New York in September as part of efforts towards normalisation of the bilateral relationship.