India-Pak back to bickering; SM Krishna hits at Shah Mehmood Qureshi

India and Pakistan were back to bickering after Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's "unsolicited and untenable" remarks on Kashmir that scuttled a possible bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart SM Krishna on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) at New York.

Krishna hit back after Qureshi's diatribe against India at the UNGA session during which he called for an impartial "plebiscite" under the UN auspices.

The external affairs minister took strong exception to Qureshi's remarks and said he was using "Kashmir as a ploy" to "deflect attention" from Pakistan's internal trouble. 

"Such unsolicited and untenable remarks will not and indeed, cannot deflect attention from the multiple problems Pakistan needs to tackle for the common good of its people and indeed of the entire region," Krishna said. 

Both sides had given indications that the two ministers were likely to meet on Tuesday but Qureshi's vociferous speech on Kashmir scuttled any such possibility.

The two sides, however, appeared to have kept alive the possibility of resumption of the dialogue between their foreign ministers, most probably in New Delhi before the end of the year.

Krishna's remarks that Qureshi was "most welcome to come" to witness Commonwealth Games appeared to give an impression that he had invited the Pakistani minister to India during the sporting event. However, it later transpired that no second invitation was extended to Qureshi specifically for the Games.

Krishna, during his talks with Qureshi in Islamabad in July, had invited the Pakistani foreign minister to India which was accepted but dates have not yet been finalised but will be worked out through diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, Qureshi, before leaving New York suggested that India had changed its mind on the bilateral meeting though he was ready to meet "anywhere, anytime."

"I have said that I was willing to meet them anywhere, anytime," Qureshi told journalists before leaving for Washington. "I have told them that I am willing to come wherever they want me to come...So why isn’t this happening…it is for you (reporters) to find out.. there was no lack of interest on our part," he added.

Sources noted that the recent rhetoric by Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir have vitiated the atmosphere, which both sides have been trying to improve after the directions from their respective prime minister during their meeting in Thimphu.

Qureshi's action of raising Kashmir not just once but several times and calling for international intervention appears to have deeply complicated matters and did not leave room for talks during this trip, according to the sources. 

The sources said that India planned to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan but New Delhi wanted Islamabad to bridge the trust deficit and bring all the perpetrators behind Mumbai terror attack to justice before successful talks are possible.