# Mani Shankar Aiyar slams BJP on Pakistan talks, foreign policy 2026-10-04T14:29:58+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on 4 October criticised the BJP-led government for refusing to hold talks with Pakistan, saying it has ‘courage’ to launch surgical strikes but not to sit across the table. Speaking at the 5th Halla Bolle Conclave in Srinagar, the Congress veteran proposed holding talks at the Attari-Wagah border and said arguing about past issues is not foreign policy. Aiyar also said India had never been as isolated as it is now, alleging the government’s foreign policy has lost its morality and sense of direction. He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks ‘the more times he is hugged by Donald Trump, the greater is India’s strength’, and that the country’s strategic autonomy is an illusion. He called for India to make peace with Pakistan and resolve boundary issues with China, adding that the only way to reach constructive conclusions is through continued dialogue. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Economic Times focused on Aiyar’s call for India-Pakistan dialogue and his criticism of the government’s refusal to talk, while Deccan Herald led with his broader charge that India is ‘isolated’ and its foreign policy has lost morality. Both carry the same core speech from the same event, but Deccan Herald gave more space to his attacks on the Modi government’s direction and his remarks on Israel and Iran. Aiyar’s statements are uniformly critical, no source reported a counterview. The coverage is consistent in reporting the same opposition figure’s critique, with Deccan Herald amplifying the most sweeping charges of isolation and moral failure. Aiyar proposed no next step beyond continued dialogue. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 government-critical - economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical) Led with Aiyar’s surgical-strike taunt, no counterview - deccanherald.com (government critical) Led with isolation charge, added Iran-Israel critique This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: BJP, Halla Bolle Conclave, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Narendra Modi, Pakistan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/mani-shankar-aiyar-slams-bjp-on-pakistan-talks-foreign-policy/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/mani-shankar-aiyar-slams-bjp-on-pakistan-talks-foreign-policy/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/