Snubbed at Saarc meet, Qureshi makes personal attack on Sushma
New York, Sep 29: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has turned the diplomatic snub by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the Saarc meeting into a personal vendetta, making a unprofessional remarks in public about her to the accompaniment of derisive laughter.
"I was quite concerned when I saw the Minister for External Affairs, when I was in the room she looked pale to me," Qureshi said while laughing. "She looked very worried. I wish, I wish we could have smiled at each other."
He made the remarks at the Asia Society here on Friday, a day after Sushma Swaraj had refused to interact with him at the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ministerial meeting and left after delivering her speech without staying on for his address.
Most people in the audience, which included a large number of people of Pakistani descent, did not join his laughter.
With exaggerated gestures, Qureshi added: "I could see the immense strain and when she left, she wasn't even willing to engage with the media. I had no problem, but I could see the pressure, but I could see the political pressure on her, politics, nothing else, politics, domestic politics."
After the Saarc meeting on Thursday he had insinuated to the Pakistani media that may be she was feeling unwell, according to Samaa TV.
Sushma Swaraj, however, went on to have her scheduled meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Walid al Muallem.
India had initially agreed last week to recently-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan's request for holding talks between Sushma Swaraj and Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.
However, New Delhi cancelled the talks a day later after three Indian police personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan issued a stamp honouring a terrorist leader.
In keeping with India's resolve not to engage diplomatically with Pakistan while the terrorism issue persisted, Sushma Swaraj has steadfastly refused to engage with Qureshi even informally while in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting.
Asked by a Pakistani journalist about why the talks didn't take place, Qureshi replied alluding to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party, but without naming them.
"Why are they reluctant? Simply, sir, politics, elections, elections, the scare of the electorate. They have taken the pendulum, they have swung the pendulum to such an extreme, now they are finding it difficult to bring it back."
"And with elections around the corner and they felt it could boomerang, that's why they were shy," he added.
But recalling Khan's offer in his first speech after the election to take two steps for every step India took, Qureshi reiterated Islamabad's keenness for talks.
"Whenever you are ready, our message is loud and clear, Pakistan will never shy away because we want to move on, we want the region to develop," he said.
Qureshi said the Pakistan election that brought Khan to power was a turning point for the nation.
"People of Pakistan are clear that extremism has to be reversed, militancy is not what we need. Terrorism has hit us more than anyone else."
About the growing ties between New Delhi and Washington, Qureshi said: "Today India is a strategic partner of the US, (but) we have no problem with that."
However, displaying a sense of insecurity, he added: "... But why lose old friends? Have new ones, why lose old friends."
In return for continued help to the US in Afghanistan, he wanted Washington to pressure India on relations with Pakistan.
"If the US wants us to help (in Afghanistan) and we want to help in our own interest, because we want peace in the region, then they have to tell their new strategic partner to give us ease on the eastern side so we can concentrate on areas of mutual interest," he said.
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Kerala Police visits Journalist Siddique Kappan’s home; Says will visit again after midnight
Malappuram: A recent late-night warning by Kerala police about a supposed routine inspection at the residence of journalist Siddique Kappan has triggered concerns among civil society groups, media unions, and the journalist’s family, who describe the move as abnormal and distressing.
According to Kappan and his wife, Raihanath, two police officers arrived at their home in Vengara, Malappuram, around 6:30 pm on Saturday, April 13. The officers claimed to be from Vengara and Tirur police stations and informed the family that a team from Malappuram would visit their home after midnight to verify Kappan’s presence. No clear reason was offered for the visit, which the officers described as a “routine check” linked to Kappan’s past legal case.
Speaking to local reporters, Raihanath Kappan recounted the unsettling exchange. “They asked if Siddique was home and whether he would be there after 12 am. When we questioned the purpose of such a late visit and whether it was linked to any central agencies like the ED or NIA, they simply brushed it off as a routine procedure. But it didn’t feel routine at all,” she said.
Siddique Kappan, who was released on bail in February 2023 after spending more than two years in a Uttar Pradesh jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), also raised concerns about the nature and timing of the visit.
“The Vengara police station is just two and a half kilometres from my home. If they wanted to verify something, they could have called. Instead, they asked around the neighbourhood and created panic. When they arrived, they asked if I was Siddique Kappan. I confirmed and invited them inside, but they declined. They said a team would come again after midnight for a ‘regular check.’ A police visit at that hour doesn’t seem regular,” he said.
Kappan said he immediately contacted his lawyer and shared the officers’ details. He questioned the motive behind such a visit, stating that he is a public figure and has always cooperated with law enforcement. “I live with my wife and two children. We have nothing to hide. But we do expect dignity and basic respect, especially after all we’ve already endured,” he said.
Raihanath added that since Kappan’s release, the family has faced consistent police monitoring. “They follow him, take his pictures in public, and visit our house repeatedly. Even though he complied with the condition of weekly reporting to the police station, the visits haven’t stopped. But planning a visit after midnight goes beyond any reasonable limit,” she said.
After the officers left, the couple informed their lawyer, who contacted the police seeking clarification. The officers reportedly repeated that it was a routine check but gave no official documentation or legal reasoning behind the timing of the proposed visit.
The incident has drawn criticism from journalist groups and civil society. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), of which Kappan is a member, issued a statement condemning the police action. The union said such steps deviate from standard procedures and should not be normalized.
The case has revived concerns about the treatment of journalists in India, especially those who face charges under harsh laws for their work. Kappan was arrested in October 2020 by the Uttar Pradesh police while on his way to Hathras to report on the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. He was later charged under UAPA and accused of conspiracy. His prolonged detention drew national and international attention. In 2023, the Supreme Court granted him bail, noting that he had the right to free speech and that there was insufficient evidence to justify continued incarceration.
As of Monday evening, the Kerala police have not issued any official statement about the purpose of the visit or why it was scheduled for such an unusual time.
