Pak won't abandon peace efforts despite India's reluctance, says Qureshi

Washington DC: India's reluctance to hold talks with Pakistan will not stop Islamabad from closing doors on its efforts to promote peace in the region, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said, days after New Delhi cancelled the foreign minister-level meeting in New York.

Addressing a news conference at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Sunday, Qureshi said India used incidents that happened in July to cancel peace talks that it agreed to in September.

India on Friday cited the "brutal" killing of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the release of the postal stamps "glorifying" Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani for calling off the meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.

"India is reluctant, we will not close our doors," Qureshi said.

"Hiding away from issues will not make them disappear. It will not improve the situation in Kashmir," he was quoted as saying by the 'Dawn' newspaper.

The foreign minister said he was unable to understand India's refusal to participate in peace talks with Pakistan.

"Engagement, no-engagement. Coming, not coming. We desired talks as we believe the sensible way is to meet and talk. They agreed, and then disagreed," he said.

Qureshi said India's response to Pakistan's peace offer was harsh and non-diplomatic.

"We did not use a non-diplomatic language in our rejoinder. Our response was matured and measured. They adopted a new approach, and moved back," he said.

The foreign minister also alleged that Swaraj's "language and tone was unbecoming of a foreign minister", the report said.