NEW DELHI: Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s speech in Islamabad, which delivered forceful messages on terrorism, was not broadcast by local media and Indian crews were not permitted to film it.”This is the Pakistan model of democracy,” retorted union minister Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi, where the Home Minister returned this evening from a tense two-day visit next door replete with rebuffs from Pakistan.

The Home Minister was attending a session of SAARC, which brings together eight South Asian countries, and he used his address to further India’s complaint of Pakistan inciting the recent unrest in Kashmir which has left at least 50 people in dead in clashes that began with last month’s shooting of 22-year-old terrorist Burhan Wani by security forces.

“In no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs” the Home Minister said, challenging Pakistan for lionizing Wani and calling protest marches against his killing. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly expressed his regret about Wani’s death.

Later, his Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan said: “We have seen brute force against unarmed civilians. Shouldn’t suppress freedom struggle in the name of fight against terror.”Sources in Delhi said “a blackout” of the speech is a misleading description and that conventionally, speeches at SAARC summits are not filmed, except for the opening remarks. But tension was a consistent theme. Mr Singh and Mr Khan did not shake hands, and neither of them attended a lunch for the SAARC visitors

Meanwhile, the home minister also briefed PM Narendra Modi on his Pakistan visit.Mr Singh’s visit – the first by an Indian leader after Pakistani terrorists attacked the air force base in Pathankot, killing seven military personnel  – was important, Delhi had said, because it was for a regional multi-lateral summit and not bilateral talks with Pakistan at a time of highly strained relations. As Mr Singh landed in Islamabad, the Pakistani Prime Minister baited India with new provocative statements about “a freedom movement in Kashmir.”
Then, anti-India protests were allowed in Islamabad and other cities, featuring terrorists like Hizbul Mujahideen’s Syed Salahuddin and Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who masterminded the deadly 26/11 attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.
Meanwhile , India on Thursday described the reports of a ‘blackout’ of Rajnath Singh’s statement during the SAARC ministerial meeting as “misleading”, hours after the Home Minister arrived back in New Delhi after skipping a lunch hosted by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

“With reference to the Home Ministers meeting in Islamabad earlier today, media reports of a ‘blackout’ of our Home Minister’s statement are misleading.””It is the standard SAARC practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media while the rest of the proceedings are in the camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues,” a government source said.

After Pakistan blacks out his speech, Rajnath Singh skips SAARC lunch; briefs PM Modi in Delhi. The reaction came after there were reports that Rajnath Singh’s speech was reportedly blacked out as media organisations were not allowed to cover the seventh SAARC Home/Interior Ministers’ conference.

State-owned Pakistan Television was the only broadcaster allowed inside the venue.Meanwhile, in Islamabad, an Interior Ministry official also said that there was no such blackout of Rajnath’s speech as none of the speeches of participating ministers was shown.”It is true that his (Rajnath’s) speech was not shown live because (the) speech(es) of none of the participating ministers was shown live by the state media.”
He said only the inaugural session was shown live when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan made welcome speeches.The official said Singh was not discriminated at all by the state media and he was given full official protocol.

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