Pakistan Says It Desires Cooperative Ties With India, Resolution Of Disputes Through Talks

Pakistan on Friday said it desired “cooperative ties” with all neighbours, including India, and resolution of disputes through talks, a day ahead of Narendra Modi assuming prime ministership for a record third time.

Addressing her weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan has been acting in a “responsible manner, notwithstanding the difficulties and rhetoric coming from India”. “Pakistan has always desired cooperative relations with all its neighbours including India. We have consistently advocated constructive dialogue and engagement to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.

Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament suspended Article 370 on August 5, 2019, a decision that Islamabad believed undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.

Baloch said, “…Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence…We hope that India will take steps to create a conducive environment for the advancement of peace and dialogue and resolution of long-standing disputes for the mutual benefit of the peoples of Pakistan and India.” To a question about the expectation of Pakistan from Indian elections in which Prime Minister Modi is re-elected for the third term, Baloch said the question is premature, as the process of formation of the government was ongoing. “So, I am not in a position to comment on your question,” she said.

Modi is all set to take charge as India’s prime minister on Sunday for a historic third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, results for which were announced on Tuesday. To another query about whether Pakistan officially congratulated Modi on winning the elections, Baloch said it is the right of the people of India to decide about their own leadership. “We do not have any comments on their electoral process,” she said, adding that since the formation of government was going on in India, it is “premature” to talk about congratulating the Indian prime minister.