Pakistan on Friday said it would like to have a “result-oriented” dialogue with India but the environment for such parleys was not conducive. Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, responding to a query about National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s recent remarks, said: We would like to have normal relations but tolerance threshold for terrorism is very low. Can’t have peace and war at the choice of our adversary, we will decide when, with whom and on what terms.”
The spokesperson said that it was Pakistan’s official position to have friendly cooperative relations with neighbours including India and to resolve all issues through a dialogue which is result oriented and meaningful, which can lead to progress on outstanding issues, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
“We have said that the environment for such dialogue is not there, this is what the Foreign Minister (Bilawal Bhutto Zardari) also said recently. The environment has been vitiated by Indian actions, and the onus is therefore on India to take necessary steps to create an environment which will be conducive for dialogue, he said. India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.
India has said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. Doval this week said that India would like to have normal ties with Pakistan but its tolerance threshold for terrorism is very low.
The FO spokesperson also alleged that India also uses the ploy of terrorism to undermine the legitimate struggle for self-determination of the Kashmiri people and to divert the attention of the international community from its human rights violations in Kashmir. The spokesperson also said the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on June 17 this year issued 495 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend the rituals related to the annual death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh from June 21-30.
During the visit, the pilgrims would, inter-alia, go to Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib, he added. To another question, he said that the instrument of sanction should be used through the mechanisms that are internationally available, that is through the United Nations.
He said Pakistan’s position on Ukraine was clear from the beginning that the situation is unfortunate and it has led to many consequences, which have serious impact on the international community, including particularly the developing countries. Talking about remarks made in the Canadian Parliament recently by a member, he said Pakistan took up this issue with the Canadian government, underling that freedom of expression entails responsibility, and that Islamabad takes serious exception to the baseless and unsubstantiated remarks that have been made.
Pakistan and Canada have a multi-faceted relationship and we wish to deepen our bilateral ties based on mutual respect and trust and such incidents are not helpful in that context, he said.
