India's axing of talks unfortunate: Pakistan
Islamabad, Sep 21 : Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday termed as "unfortunate" India's cancellation of talks with Islamabad in New York next week.
"We had already told India that if they take one step towards us, we will take two. However, it seems that they faltered after taking just one step," Qureshi told Dawn online.
Blaming Pakistan for the killing of the security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir and accusing it of glorifying terrorism, India called off talks between Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. They were set to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York marking the first thaw in bilateral ties.
Qureshi said the world should see that "Pakistan has held a positive outlook towards the situation while India's attitude has not been so forthcoming".
He said it appeared as if New Delhi was facing internal pressure. "If the meeting is not to be considered as part of talks between the two countries, then what is the purpose of it?
"I would only say that there was a chance, which was missed. Talks will only be held in a dignified and respectable manner... If they are not willing for it, then we also won't act in haste."
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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.
