India wants good relations, but Pakistan doesn't want to improve: Rajnath Singh

In a scathing attack on Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that India’s neighbour was the deterrent in ensuring that the two nations did not have cordial relations.

“Atal Bihari Bajpayee said friends change but neighbours don't. We want good relations with our neighbours but Pakistan does not want to improve,” he said at the Rising India Summit in the national capital.

The statement comes in the wake of a diplomatic row between the two nations. Pakistan on Thursday said it has decided to call back its High Commissioner in India, Sohail Mahmood, for consultations after repeated incidence of "harassment" of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Office had summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh over alleged harassment of its officials and their families in New Delhi.

Launching a scathing attack on the Islamic Republic, the minister further said that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight terrorism. “They are allowing a UN designated terrorist (Haafiz Saeed) to run his own political party and fight elections. God knows how many people these terrorists have killed. The country also helps the Haqqani network to grow,” the minister said.