Indo-Pak Ties Should not Remain Hostage to Kashmir Issue: Basit Ali -

Indo-Pak Ties Should not Remain Hostage to Kashmir Issue: Basit Ali

Nov 17, 2014 Sanjay Tandon News 0

Basit Ali, the Pakistan High Commissioner to India, seems to have learnt his lessons. This man was severely criticized for his move to met Kashmiri separatists on the eve of India Pak secretary level talks. In fact, his lunch diplomacy failed to work and invited ire from Indian government as Indo-Pak talks were cancelled and the relations between the two countries have been in a state of limbo since then. This is why it surprised many when he said that it is not a good sign that dialogue between the two countries has been kept hostage to the Kashmir issue.

Basit is now singing to the Indian tune

Basit Ali was speaking to the reporters at a function organized at Hyderabad Press Club. He was invited by the Telangana government to meet senior ministers. Reacting to the recent remark made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Basit Ali said that there are 10 contentious issues that are sought to be resolved through a dialogue process and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is just one of them. He said that he fully concurs with the statement of Sushma Swaraj when she said that there are no full stops in diplomacy.

Also Read: U.S. Feels the Need for U.N. Intervention in Indo-Pak Conflict

Basit expressed hope that the dialogue process between India and Pakistan would resume soon. ‘It is not in the interest of the people of the two countries to shut down the dialogue process completely,’ Basit said. He added that Pakistan was desirous of resumption of dialogue between the two countries and the process of dialogue should not be hostage to the issue of J&K.

J&K is only one of the contentious issues between India and Pak

Indian government suspended secretary level talks in the month of August to express resentment and displeasure over the move of Pakistan High Commissioner when he went ahead to hold talks with the Hurriyat leaders. There were also ceasefire violations by Pakistan that were responsible for the suspension of the dialogue process. When Basit was asked by the reporters to give his personal comments on this issue, he said that the issue of J&K was a contentious one and an integral part of the composite dialogue process. It is not possible to overlook or put it on a back burner.

Also Read: “Pakistan Should Stop Ceasefire”, Says Rajnath Singh

The Pakistan High Commissioner however feels that the entire dialogue process cannot be kept hostage to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. On the issue of ceasefire violations, he said that Pakistan has a different position from the stand that India has. But what is important for both countries is to adhere to the ceasefire agreement and move forward through the dialogue process to normalize relations between India and Pakistan.

Basit Ali says that trade relations between India and Pakistan have a lot of potential. ‘The agenda of our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, like that of Prime Minister Modi, is economic development.’ So, there is no reason why we cannot face the challenges together,’ Basit said. He also expressed his hope for the revival of cricketing ties between the two countries.

abdu basith, easefire violations, Foreign secretary, High Commissioner, india pakistan relationship, indo pak talks to resume, Indo-Pak, Kashmir issue, Kashmiri separatists, Nation news, Nawaz Sharif, telangana

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Sanjay Tandon

Sanjay Tandon is a graduate engineer from IIT Varanasi. He has been writing as a freelancer for many years. He loves to write on various niches. He is passionate about politics and economy and spends his free time watching news channels. He is also an expert on relationships.