BAKU: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday that Pakistan is ready to hold dialogue with India if New Delhi is serious about resolving the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan had offered holding of talks on outstanding issues several times but India did not reciprocate, he said while talking to reporters in Baku before wrapping up a three-day visit to Azerbaijan. He said that Kashmir was the main cause of unrest in the region and India must show seriousness for the resolution of the issue and should honour its commitment under United Nations Security Council resolutions. Pakistan was committed to peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, he added.
The premier regretted Indian allegations that blamed Pakistan for the attack on an Indian army base camp in Uri. He said India levelled allegations against Pakistan within six hours of the Uri incident, and reiterated that no infiltration took place across the Line of Control (LoC). He also added that his government had introduced a new culture of political tolerance in the country as they respected mandate of every party.
“The PPP formed government in Sindh and we respected it. Similarly we have respected MQM as an opposition party. Even when unethical language was used in KPK we also respected the public mandate there,” he said. He vowed to take the country to the path of progress and prosperity, despite “certain elements’ plans to shut the country”.
-Soaring tensions-
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement comes at a time when tensions simmer between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue. Last month, India initiated a diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan after blaming it for the Sept 18 attack on the Uri army camp which killed 18 Indian soldiers ? a claim which Pakistan has rejected.
Pakistan also rubbished India’s claim that it carried out ‘surgical strikes’ on militants across the LoC. Tensions between the South Asian rivals have been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Indian-held Kashmir following the killing of the young leader Burhan Wani by Indian forces in July. More than 100 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in protests against Indian rule that followed.
India pulled out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled to be held in November in Islamabad. Several other SAARC members also followed the suit which led to the postponement of the summit.
