ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, on Friday outlined its position about normalisation of relations with India, asking New Delhi to create a conducive and an enabling environment for result-oriented and meaningful dialogue for resolution of all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri while responding to media queries in weekly briefing also termed the media reports about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible visit to Pakistan in October this year, as baseless.
To repeated questions about any secret dialogue between Pakistan and India for normalization of the relations, he did not confirm any engagement at any level between the two countries secretly, but added "for us, it is not important whether talks with India are going on or not, but significant for us is whether in the prevailing circumstance we should talk with India or not."
“It’s equally important to see on which issues we should talk with India, what should be objective and, lastly, what circumstances would require for the talks and who is responsible to create those circumstances [for talks]?” he added.
Chaudhri reiterated that Pakistan has never shied away from talks, as the country has always maintained that for peace in the region, the resolution of outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, is necessary to be resolved through dialogue.
“…The issue of Jammu and Kashmir being the core issue between Pakistan and India, whenever there would be talks with India, the primary point would [be] resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” he said.
For this, he added that a conducive environment is necessary, adding it is India that has vitiated the environment with its illegal and unilateral steps of August 5, 2019.
“We also believe that now the onus is on India to create a conducive and an enabling environment for result-oriented and meaningful dialogue,” he asserted.
To another query about the references given by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his recent joint presser with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi with regard to the Quad alliance of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, the spokesperson said that relations between states should be based on policy of cooperation rather than confrontationist approach.
“We believe that the spirit of all agreements [among states] either at regional or international level should be based on cooperation. We support any forum whose approach is cooperative and we are opposed to any forum whose approach is confrontationist,” he added.
To another question, he said Pakistan wants to enhance its cooperation with Russia in defence production, besides in the energy sector.
“There are two areas – defence and security – where we have cooperation with them [Russia] which involves both providing of military equipment as well as training,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021