It will be foolish to think about Indo-Pak war: Pak High Commissioner in Delhi
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ISLAMABAD: (APP) Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit while responding to another question said, "Terrorism is also our issue, our problem. There is no reason for Pakistan to shy away from discussing terrorism. It is a local, regional and global challenge and we need to deal with it collectively."
To a question about the prospects of resumption of stalled Pak-India dialogue, Abdul Basit said, "We need to move from symbolism to substance. It is time to move from conflict management to conflict resolution. India is not willing to discuss Kashmir, which is the core issue. Dialogue for the sake of dialogue will not serve any purpose. We need to have a dialogue based on sovereign equality, mutual respect and then see how we can resolve our problems. Both countries have fought four wars on Kashmir. Terrorism is also an issue between us, but if we can resolve the Kashmir issue, things between our countries will immediately change."
About the possibility of another war between Pakistan and India, he said, "No, I don't really see that happening. I think it will be foolish to think along these lines."
To a question, the Pakistani High Commissioner said, "India also recognizes that J&K is the core issue needing resolution. If you look at all the agreements between the two sides, including the joint resolution we signed in 2015, you will see that they clearly say the two sides need to resolve this dispute. Both sides are committed to resolve the issue in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
Attempts to brush this core issue under the carpet will not work." Only if India is willing to show flexibility will the dialogue be useful. Otherwise, the talks will take us nowhere."
To a question, he said, "Terrorism is also an important issue for us but India needs to appreciate that the primary reason for our mutual distrust is the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Therefore, it needs to be thoroughly discussed in order to resolve it otherwise we can come up with various excuses and pretexts not to engage with each other. Pakistan is willing to discuss all issues but it has to be a meaningful process."
It is not sequencing either. We had agreed in 2015 December on the framework. It is now a matter of starting that process. We must have a meaningful dialogue, we cannot engage for the sake of symbolism. It is important to have symbolism but we must move forward building upon our past accomplishments to resolve the issues and solve our problems.
It is a comprehensive dialogue that includes all issues from Jammu and Kashmir to terrorism, trade culture and religious- tourism. But we need to engage meaningfully and purposefully.
If India is not ready then we can always wait."
When asked is there a silver lining in all this?, the Pakistani High Commissioner said, "As a diplomat I am always optimistic and I would like diplomacy to win at the end of the day."
