Congress criticises BJP for handling Pak issue 'badly'

Says Modi govt in one year has brought relations to a standstill

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The Congress on Friday criticised the Centre for obsessing over Pakistan, and added that it has handled the issue badly.

"The Modi government has handled India's relationship with Pakistan very badly. They have swung from the sublime to the ridiculous. They have undone 10-years of effort by the UPA government to de-hyphenate with Pakistan. In one year, they have again brought it to the state of hyphenation," Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI.

"How can India become a world power if it constantly remains obsessed with Pakistan and makes a public display of its obsession every time it speaks at an international forum?" he added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said late on Thursday that India is open to having a dialogue with Pakistan on all issues, but emphatically stated that talks and terror cannot go together.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly here, Swaraj, who was speaking a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had raised the Kashmir issue again at the UNGA, said that the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack are still walking free in Pakistan which was an affront to the entire international community.