Disappointed at India's arrogant, negative response: Imran Khan
Islamabad, Sep 22 : Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday expressed "disappointment" at India's response calling it "arrogant and negative" after New Delhi called off talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries, blaming Islamabad for glorifying terrorism.
"Disappointed at the arrogant and negative response by India to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue," tweeted Khan.
"However, all my life I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture."
Indian External Affairs Ministers Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi were set to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, that could have marked the first thaw in bilateral ties that have steadily deteriorated.
The Indian government said on Friday that it cancelled talks with Pakistan following two "deeply disturbing" developments that led to Islamabad's "evil agenda" being exposed.
In one incident, terrorists abducted and gunned down three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir, marking a sharp escalation in militancy in the state which India says is backed by Pakistan.
Also, Islamabad had issued postage stamps in memory of Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen leader who was shot dead by Indian security forces in July 2016, sparking widespread street protests.
Qureshi had called the development "unfortunate" and claimed that the decision was taken by New Delhi "under internal pressure".
"The reasons cited by the Indian side for the decision to cancel the foreign ministers' meeting, within 24 hours of its public confirmation, are entirely unconvincing," the Pakistan Foreign Ministry had said in a statement.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
