Pakistan: Putin dials PM Modi, to visit India, backs its fight against terrorism
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday dialed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, strongly condemned the Hindu-only massacre by Muslim terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, and expressed “full support” to India in the fight against terrorism sponsored by Pakistan.
President Putin emphasized that the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Monday, the media reported.
President Putin also accepted PM Modi’s invitation to visit India for the annual high-level meeting as the two leaders held a telephone conversation, the Kremlin said on Monday.
“The Indian leader confirmed his invitation to the Russian president to visit India for an annual bilateral summit. The invitation was gratefully accepted,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
They emphasized the need for an uncompromising fight against terrorism in any of its manifestations, it said.
The two leaders stressed the strategic nature of Russian-Indian relations, it said, adding that these relations are not influenced by the outside and continue to develop dynamically in all directions.
They reiterated their commitment to deepening the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
PM Modi extended greetings to President Putin on the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Russia’s Victory Day, to be held on Friday, and invited him for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit to be held in India later this year.
Because of the April 22 terror attack and Hindus’ massacre, and the war-like situation between India and Pakistan thereafter, PM Modi cancelled his Moscow trip as a guest at the Victory Day Parade (May 9). Later, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who was to go instead, also cancelled his Russia visit.
On May 3, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S V Lavrov, in a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, discussed the implications of the latest terrorist attack. Lavrov called for the settlement of disagreements between Delhi and Islamabad, by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis.
After the Pahalgam attack, India has taken strong countermeasures against Pakistan for its continued support of cross-border terrorism.
In the April 23 Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, chaired by PM Modi, India decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), 1960, in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, and closed the integrated Attari Check Post. India also downsized Pakistani High Commission’s staff, and ordered them to leave India within a week. Islamabad protested against these steps, and announced similar measures.
The Centre also decided to cancel any visas provided under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) and ordered Pakistanis to leave the country within 48 hours, besides suspending all visa services for Pakistanis.
Amid the ongoing tensions, India imposed an immediate ban on the direct or indirect import and transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, regardless of their import status, effectively halting bilateral trade flows, according to a notification by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
