Arindam Bagchi
New Delhi: India on Thursday (September 2) declined to comment anything immediately on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's
declaring a day of official mourning on the death of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
"I don't have an immediate comment on this. It is his (Imran Khan's) statement. They had given him 'Nishan-e-Pakistan', their wish, what can I say," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing.
Geelani, 92, expired at his home in Srinagar on Wednesday night.
During the day, Imran Khan said, "The Pakistan flag will fly at half-mast and we will observe a day of official mourning." Of course, Pakistan's Prime Minister's announcement makes it more clear that the so-called separatist movement always had the backing of Pakistan.
To a question on the resumption of the air bubble with Bangladesh, the MEA spokesperson said talks are underway, and proposals are being discussed.
Mr Bagchi also said the evacuation exercise from Afghanistan has remained halted since the past few days and would resume once the Kabul airport became operational. "Currently, Kabul airport is not operational. We will resume our operation to evacuate people from Kabul as soon as the airport service will resume," he said.
Answering questions, he said it would be imperative to take Indian diplomat Deepak Mittal's meeting with the Afghan representative at Doha on August 31 as 'just a meeting', and there was no need for mere speculation."Let's take the Doha meeting for what it is; …it is just a meeting. These are still very early days," Mr Bagchi remarked.
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