No Kashmir, Pakistan in I-Day speech

There was no mention of Kashmir and the northeast - the troubled regions of India - or Pakistan in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech on Monday.

There was no mention of Kashmir and the northeast - the troubled regions of India - or Pakistan in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech on Monday.

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This is the first time in his seven Independence Day speeches since 2004 that Manmohan Singh didn't speak about the disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states.

Last year, when Jammu and Kashmir was in the midst of a civil unrest, Manmohan Singh appealed for peace and invited all political groups from the state for talks.

Almost a similar appeal was made to groups in the northeast.

Pakistan, which has figured routinely in Manmohan Singh's addresses, was given a miss this year. He had skipped the topic in 2007 and 2009 too.

Last year, Manmohan Singh had asked Pakistan “not to let their territory be used for acts of terrorism against India”.

If this was not done, "we cannot progress far in our dialogue with Pakistan", he had said.