Modi for 'constructive engagement', Pakistan says no dialogue on table
New Delhi/Islamabad, Aug 20 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his new Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan that India desires "constructive engagement" with Islamabad but Pakistan quickly clarified that there was no offer of a bilateral dialogue.
Modi wrote to Imran Khan expressing India's commitment to build good neighbourly relations and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement with Islamabad.
He also talked about a shared vision to bring peace to make the subcontinent free of terror and violence.
Informed sources said in New Delhi that Modi wrote to Khan on Saturday, congratulating him after he took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Modi expressed India's commitment to build good neighbourly relations between New Delhi and Islamabad and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement for the benefit of the people of the region.
He expressed the belief that the smooth transition of government in Pakistan would strengthen people's belief in democracy.
Modi recalled their telephonic conversation in which they spoke of a shared vision to bring peace, security and prosperity in the subcontinent to make it free of terror and violence.
In Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry denied that Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had stated that Modi made an offer of a dialogue.
"In response to a query regarding the controversy being unnecessarily created by sections of the Indian media, the Foreign Minister had not stated that the Indian Prime Minister had made an offer of a dialogue," the Ministry said in a statement.
"The Indian Prime Minister in his letter to Khan had mentioned something similar to what the Foreign Minister elucidated earlier that the way forward was only through constructive engagement."
Earlier on Monday, Qureshi said that there was a need for "continued and uninterrupted" dialogue with India, which was the only way forward for the two neighbours to resolve outstanding issues.
Qureshi, the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Vice Chairman, was sworn-in earlier in the day along with 15 other members from Imran Khan's 21-strong cabinet, Dawn news reported.
"Pakistan looks forward to a mutually beneficial, uninterrupted dialogue with India to resolve all issues," the Ministry said.
"Any attempts to instigate controversy and vitiate the environment are counter-productive and against the spirit of responsible journalism."
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Kolkata court to deliver judgement in rape-murder of RG Kar hospital doctor
Kolkata (PTI): The judgement in the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital here will be delivered later on Saturday.
Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was charged with committing the crime on the postgraduate trainee at the state-run hospital in the northern part of the city on August 9 last year.
The judgement will be delivered by Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge of the Sealdah court, 57 days after the in-camera trial commenced on November 12.
The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the case initially arrested Roy on August 10, a day after the medic's body was recovered from the seminar room of the hospital. The Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The in-camera trial in the rape and murder of the doctor commenced on November 12.
The hearing in Roy's trial was concluded on January 9, during which 50 witnesses were examined. The parents of the deceased doctor have claimed that other persons were involved in the crime and expected that they would also be arrested and tried before the court.
The victim's parents have also filed an application before the court seeking further investigation into the case.
The crime led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests by junior doctors in Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim and adequate security arrangements in state-run hospitals.
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