VK Singh says India to hold no talks with Pakistan till ceasefire violations continue

There will be no dialogue with Pakistan till it continues to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister General (retd) V K Singh said on Saturday. "Dialogue process has been stopped because if you (Pakistan) are firing at me, you are stopping my ability to talk to you," the Minister of State for External Affairs told reporters in Srinagar.

The former Army chief said New Delhi has conveyed the message to Islamabad that ceasefire violations and dialogue cannot go together. "So that is what has been conveyed by telling Pakistan that, look here, you cannot do both the things together," he said. On the standoffs with Chinese Army in Ladakh, Singh said there is an ongoing dialogue process. "There is a Line of Actual Control. The perceptions of both the countries on the Line of Actual Control differ," he said.

Gen Singh said the issue figured in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the latter's visit to India. "I think in the recent talks between our Prime Minister and President of Peoples' Republic of China, these issues have been talked about. We will see the results as time passes," he added. The BJP leader was here to interact with party candidates and leaders for the Assembly elections in the state which will begin on November 25.