JD (U) dubs separatists attending iftar at Pak High Commission as 'diplomatic failure'

Patna: The Janata Dal (United) on Saturday dubbed the Kashmiri separatist leaders attending an 'iftar' party hosted by the Pakistan High Commission here as a 'diplomatic failure' and lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan. "This is a diplomatic failure. We attend their birthday parties and eat cake. And they are involving the separatists. It is very clear what their intensions are. They made tall claims during the election campaigns on dealing with these issues," JD (U) spokesperson Ajay Alok told ANI here. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had invited leaders of the Hurriyat Conference for Eid Milan on July 21, the separatists have claimed. Last year, the Pakistan High Commission had cancelled an iftar party on July 4, to ensure that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in the Russian city of Ufa took place without any hiccups. A meeting between the Hurriyat leaders and the Pakistani envoy in August last year had led to India calling-off the proposed Foreign Secretary-level talks between the two nations.