In the wake of the terror attack at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, the Congress has asked the Centre to call off India-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks slated for 15 January.
Congress leader Manish Tewari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should cancel talks as the "deep state" of Pakistan does not want a peaceful relationship with India.
"Mr Prime Minister are we waiting for another terror attack to take the obvious step. There is nothing that is going to be gained by engaging with Pakistan. This government should immediately call off the Foreign Secretary-level talks," Tewari told ANI.
"Earlier when Vajpayee ji went to Lahore, Kargil happened. So, therefore, it very clearly demonstrates that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif controls nothing in Pakistan. The deep state in Pakistan doesn't want a proactive engagement with India. It doesn't want peaceful relationship with India. So, therefore, under those circumstances, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately call off the Foreign Secretary-level talks," he added.
The BJP has, however, refused to cancel talks that were fixed during Modi's surprise visit to Lahore on the Pakistani prime minister's birthday recently. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "Unless you talk terror, terror will not come down."
"This process (talks) cannot be destroyed due to one attack... Pakistan is our neighbour. You cannot change your neighbour, you can change friends and therefore we must continue with the talks, but talks have to be mainly on the issue of terrorism and that's exactly what India is doing," Javadekar said.
The CPI also stood against the demands to call off talks scheduled to take place on 15 January. About a week after Modi's visit to Pakistan, a group of militants attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot on Saturday, leading to the death of seven security personnel.
The Indian security forces shot dead four militants on Saturday, while one was gunned down on Monday. They continued to hunt for the sixth hiding militant.
The militants -- suspected to be members of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed -- are believed to have entered the Indian side of the border from Pakistan. The attack raised questions of Pakistan's involvement in the attack.
Some reports suggested that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligences (ISI) and Pakistani Army is behind the attack. According to Zee TV, the attack was plotted in Rawalpindi with intentions to disrupt talks between the two nations, Zee News reported.
