Islamabad: Maintaining that dialogue was the "only sensible way" for resolving issues, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi hopes that he will meet his Indian counterpart SM Krishna in New York this month, which will lead to "forward movement" in ties.
He acknowledged that last year's Mumbai terror attacks had led to the suspension of relations between the two sides.
"However, it is our desire that there should be forward movement and I will hold talks with my Indian counterpart Krishna if we meet in New York," he said at an iftar he hosted for journalists at the Foreign Office.
To a question if his meeting with Krishna on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly had been finalised, Qureshi said he was hopeful of holding talks with his Indian counterpart though no date had been set as yet for a meeting.
"I am ready to engage (Krishna). I am prepared, we are not shying away from a meeting," Qureshi said.
Pakistan is "fully prepared for such a meeting" as it knows "what the agenda should be and what we want," he added.
Regional stability can be ensured only if India and Pakistan engage to resolve issues peacefully by sitting at the negotiating table, he said.
"The only sensible way forward is dialogue," Qureshi said adding that this was also the conclusion reached by the Prime Ministers of the two countries during their meeting in Sharm-el-Sheikh in July. MORE PTI RHL sdg AKJ Following up on decisions made by the premiers at that meeting, Pakistan had invited Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Islamabad for talks though there was no response from India, Qureshi said.
Pakistan is even ready for the meeting between the Foreign Secretaries to be held in a third country, he said.
If a meeting is held between him and Krishna in New York, Qureshi said, "Pakistan will act in a constructive and positive manner as it wants to move on because the region requires peace and stability."
Replying to a question on whether former President Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula for resolving the Kashmir issue is still on the table, Qureshi said the Foreign Office was not kept in the loop during "back channel engagements" that occurred during the regime of the former military ruler.
The Foreign Office had no records of those meetings, he said. Qureshi acknowledged that back channel contacts had their advantages though the Foreign Office's inputs are needed for such parleys.
However, any effort by India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue would be a "non-starter" if it did not involve the Kashmiri people, he said.
Asked if he would share information about India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Pakistan's Balochistan province during his upcoming meeting with Krishna, Qureshi said the issue had been "brought up" during the meeting of the two premiers in Sharm el-Sheikh.
He said he would hold talks on this issue through "diplomatic channels and not the media".
Comments
0 comment