Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood was on Wednesday summoned by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale in connection with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephonic conversation with Hurriyat Conference separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Mahmood was conveyed that Pakistan Foreign Minister’s action was a brazen attempt to subvert India’s unity and to violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the External Affairs Ministry said.
“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 further said 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 Foreign Secretary conveyed to the High Commissioner that this deplorable act has violated all norms for the conduct of international relations even by Pakistan’s own standards.
“The Pakistan Foreign Minister’s actions are tantamount to direct interference in the internal affairs of its neighbor”, the Foreign Secretary told the Pak envoy and underscored that by this action Pakistan has confirmed yet again that it 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, he added.
Foreign Secretary made it clear to Pakistan High Commissioner that the entire State of 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.
Recently the Pakistan Foreign Office had said in Islamabad that Qureshi spoke with Umar Farooq and discussed with him efforts of Pakistan government to highlight the Kashmir issue.
This was the first time the Pakistan government reached out to the Hurriyat after Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office last year. Mirwaiz said Qureshi was disappointed that despite Khan trying to “reach out sincerely” to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi government of India did not respond”.
After taking charge as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been saying that he wants to improve ties with India and that both sides should hold talks to resolve outstanding issues.
India has been maintaining that Pakistan has to stop cross border terrorism for any meaningful engagement.

Courtesy:State Times,Jan31,2019