Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh (right) and his wife Srijana (second right) welcome Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistani First Lady Begum Kalsoom Nawaz as they arrive at Kathmandu Airport, Nepal, yesterday.
IANS
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday said Islamabad is ready to hold talks with India but “the ball is now in India’s court”, the Geo News reported.
Speaking in the Nepal’s capital city, where he reached yesterday to attend 18th Summit of South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (Saarc) Nov 26-27, Sharif said the question about bilateral talks should be put to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
“Cancellation of talks was New Delhi’s unilateral decision,” the Pakistan prime minister said, adding “ball is now India’s court for talks between both the countries”.
Earlier in the day, Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Prime Minister Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, on his arrival here denied that there were any plans for a Modi-Sharif bilateral. He, however, said that such a meeting could be held if Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj makes a request.
He said it was up to India to have “informal talks” with Pakistan.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday briefly met and shook hands with Aziz on the eve of the Saarc Summit but later clarified to media that “It was out of courtesy”.
Angered by the Pakistan High Commissioner’s refusal to call off talks with Kashmiri separatist leaders in New Delhi, despite Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh calling up High Commissioner Abdul Basit to request it, India called off Aug 25, 2014, foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said yesterday that Islamabad hopes that Prime Minister Sharif’s participation in the Saarc Summit in Nepal will help reduce Islamabad-New Delhi tensions given that US policies in the region have failed.
The minister’s comments come in the backdrop of Sharif asking US President Barack Obama to take up the Kashmir issue when he visits New Delhi for India’s Republic Day celebrations.
Asif told reporters in Islamabad Pakistan wanted good relations with India but Islamabad’s desire should not be seen as a weakness.
He said Sharif had expressed his resolve to improve relations with India.
Stating peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan was necessary for prevalence of peace in the whole region, the Pakistan defence minister said without stopping foreign interference in Afghanistan there could be no peace, Geo News reported yesterday.
He also said Pakistan was hopeful that good relations with India would be restored soon.
Stating that American policies have failed in the region, he called for solutions to problems in the region by regional countries.
The minister told reporters in Islamabad that the region is suffering from the US policies.
“The existence of lone superpower is the main cause of the problems,” Xinhua quoted Asif as saying.
He hoped that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s participation in the Saarc summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Kathmandu Nov 26-27 will help in “reduction of tensions” between Pakistan and India.
Although no meeting between Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi is planned on the sidelines of the Saarc summit, officials do not rule out any such interaction.
Saarc comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.