New Delhi: Ruling out any third-party mediation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that if talks are to take place with Pakistan, these will only be held on the vacation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the cessation of cross-border terrorism.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the weekly briefing in Delhi said “Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and not open for any negotiation. Any bilateral discussion will only be on the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan.”
“Any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral,” Jaiswal said, reaffirming that all issues must be resolved directly between the two countries.
He also reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will remain suspended until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for terrorism. “Water and blood cannot flow together. Trade and terror cannot go together,” said Jaiswal.
On the issue of terrorism, the MEA spokesperson said, “India remains open to dialogue, but only on specific points such as the extradition of known terrorists. We are open to discussing the handing over of noted terrorists whose list was given to Pakistan some years ago.”
He also dismissed claims that the United States played a mediating role in the recent cessation of hostilities after ‘Operation Sindoor’, a military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. “There was no third-party mediation, including the US. No country has any role in bilateral issues with Pakistan,” the MEA spokesperson added.
