Experts urge Govt to cancel next month's PM-Sharif talks

A group of former senior military and civil services officers today asked the Government to cancel the proposed talks between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York next month in view of unabated Pakistan-inspired terrorism against this country.
"At a time when Pakistan is day in and day out using terrorism against us, it would be ill-advised for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet with Nawaz Sharif as it would signal that relations between the two countries are in a business-as-usual mode," they said at a press conference here.
"We, therefore, strongly recommend that we do not rush into a dialogue with Pakistan, and the proposed meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries be cancelled," they said while releasing a joint statement.

The press conference was attended by senior retired officials including former IB Chief Ajit Doval, former Army Chief Gen N C Vij, former ambassador G Parthasarathy and former Deputy NSA Satish Chandra.
Talks are proposed between Singh and Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in the last week of September.
"The policy of appeasement has failed; a new bipartisan policy is needed which will imposes costs on Pakistan for terrorism," said Chandra.

He said imposing costs will deter Pakistan. "There is no need to be afraid of nuclear blackmail, India is a nuclear power too."
The strategic community members said for a long time, "India has meekly put up with Pakistan-inspired terrorism and our citizens across the country have paid a terrible price. This has only encouraged Pakistan in its pursuit of such policies."

The statement comes amid nationwide outrage over the killing of five Indian soldiers who were ambushed by specialist troops of Pakistan Army along the Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.