Indian and Pakistani newspapers were rife with mutual recrimination yesterday about the latest talks between the nuclear-armed rivals, but recognized that leaders at least agreed to meet again.
Pakistan had been hoping for confidence-building measures in a step towards resuming peace talks, but local analysts accused India of hijacking the talks by accusing Pakistan intelligence of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna invited his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to India for further talks, but urged Islamabad to investigate leads thrown up by the questioning of a US terror suspect on Mumbai.
On the eve of the talks in Islamabad on Thursday, Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai accused Pakistan’s ISI of controlling and coordinating the Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead two years ago.
Qureshi described the remarks as “uncalled for.”
Deadlock
“The trust-building dialogue ended in a deadlock as the two sides failed to come up with a clear roadmap for sustainable engagement or a consensus on confidence-building measures,” said Pakistan’s most prestigious newspaper, Dawn.
The paper described discussions as very intense and blamed the deadlock on India refusing to discuss issues of concern to Pakistan.
“Indians were more interested in discussing the trial of Mumbai attacks suspects in Pakistan, following the leads that emerged from David Headley and other issues terrorism related issues,” the paper said.
The News said Indian intransigence “left rather a bad taste in diplomatic mouths” and blamed India for failing to outline a specific roadmap for future talks on the major disputes that divide the countries.
In India, the press was also largely negative about the meeting.
“Fissures run deep but India, Pakistan agree to meet again,” the headline in the Indian Express read.
“It was obvious that the two sides had failed to agree on anything, even the confidence-building measures,” the Hindustan Times newspaper wrote.
English-language tabloid Mail Today acknowledged Krishna’s invitation to Qureshi, but its page-three report was headlined: “Serious differences mar Indo-Pak talks.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese