India, Pakistan talks should focus on terrorism issue, says Murli Manohar Joshi - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Ahead of the scheduled Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan this month, Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said that the upcoming talks between the two countries should be focussed on the issue of fighting terrorism. Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Saturday said the meeting between top diplomats of both the countries must tackle terrorism before discussing any other issues. "We want that the government should complete the agenda because the talks are going to start on the 25th of this month. Parliament is opening on the 22nd. We would like that the Prime Minister should make a clear statement and give clear assurance that there will be no talks except terrorism and all other issues will only be considered after there is a successful culmination of talks on this issue," said Joshi in the national capital. India offered to resume official talks with Pakistan earlier this month resulting in a meeting scheduled for February 25 in New Delhi . The meeting comes after talks were suspended following the terrorist attacks in the Mumbai in Nov.26, 2008. Speaking about the Government's Kashmir amnesty initiative, where the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday (February 11) that anyone in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) willing to give up the fight against Indian rule would be welcomed back, he said: "The country still continues to accept the resolution in Parliament regarding Kashmir's relationship with India and the agreement between India and Pakistan about the prevention of entire terrorist activities from the territory of Pakistan." Speaking about Shiv Sena resorting to Mumbai for Marathi people only campaign, Joshi said: "We are not satisfied with this situation that any country, any state or any region belongs to any one particular language. Any Indian citizen can go anywhere in the country, they can live anywhere, they can work anywhere, do business and can even settle down. There should not be any objection to it."