New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Wednesday summoned Pakistan envoy Sohail Mahmood and categorically told him that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephonic conversation with separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was a “brazen attempt” to subvert India’s unity and violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a late evening statement, said the Pakistan High Commissioner was “cautioned” that persistence of such behaviour by Pakistan will have “implications”.
The Pakistan Foreign Office on Tuesday said Qureshi spoke with the Hurriyat leader and with him efforts of Pakistan government to highlight the Kashmir issue.
“The High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned by the Foreign Secretary tonight in connection with the telephone conversation initiated by the Foreign Minister of Pakistan with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference,” the MEA said.
It said Gokhale conveyed to the Pakistani envoy that the “deplorable act” has violated all norms for the conduct of international relations even by Pakistan’s own standards and that Qureshi’s actions are tantamount to direct interference in the internal affairs of its neighbour.
“The Foreign Secretary conveyed the Government of India’s condemnation in the strongest terms of this latest brazen attempt by Pakistan to subvert India’s unity and to violate our sovereignty and territorial integrity, by none other than the Pakistan Foreign Minister,” the MEA said.
In the strongly-worded statement, it further said Gokhale underscored that the action has confirmed yet again that Pakistan officially abets and encourages individuals associated with terrorism and anti-India activities.
“It has exposed to the entire international community Pakistan’s duplicity in professing their desire for normal relations with India on the one hand, while openly inciting anti-India activities on the other,” the MEA said.
“The Pakistan High Commissioner was categorically informed by the Foreign Secretary that the Government of India expects Pakistan to desist forthwith from such actions. He was cautioned that persistence of such behaviour by Pakistan will have implications,” it added.
The MEA asserted that the entire Jammu and Kashmir “has been, is and shall remain the integral part of India and that Pakistan has no locus standi in any matters related to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, has been made clear again to the High Commissioner of Pakistan.”
The Pakistan Foreign office said on Tuesday that Qureshi, during his conversation with Farooq, also mentioned the June 2018 report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and a report of the UK Parliament. (PTI)
