Islamabad: Pakistan Thursday described its relationship with India as “difficult” and said New Delhi lacked clarity in its policy on ties with Islamabad which is slowing down progress on resolving bilateral issues.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in September 2018 laid down a clear roadmap for starting negotiations with India but it agreed to it one day and reneged the next day.
India has made it clear to Pakistan that cross-border terrorism and talks cannot go hand-in-hand.
He also accused India of lacking clarity in policy on Pakistan.
He also said India’s “vague policy” was clear when it sent ministers for the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor and claimed next day that the visit was personal.
To a question that India was not giving visas to showbiz people from Pakistan, he said, “there is no such bar from our side” and Pakistan was providing visas to Indian nationals who wanted to participate in cultural and religious activities in Pakistan.
He also claimed that there was lack of progress on proposals to India about exchange of prisoners who are less than 17 or older than 65 years and visit of the Joint Judicial Commission because India was not willing to engage with Pakistan.
All these issues needed to be resolved through diplomatic channels based on the agreement between both countries, Faisal said.
“Had India replied positively to our offer for negotiations, these issues could have been resolved. We have a difficult relationship with India. There is very slow progress on these issues. Our efforts are ongoing,” he said.
‘India has no role in Afghanistan’
Islamabad: India has no role in Afghanistan, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson said Thursday, asserting that Islamabad played a key role in arranging direct talks between the Taliban and the US to find a peaceful solution to the longstanding Afghan problem.
Speaking at the weekly briefing, Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan always maintained that the solution to the conflict in Afghanistan lies in an Afghan-led and Afghan owned peace process.
He said Pakistan was convinced that an intra-Afghan dialogue will lead to peace and stability in the war-torn country.
“In our view, intra-Afghan dialogue is crucial for success and sustainability of peace process in Afghanistan. Pakistan will continue to support and facilitate Afghan peace process in good faith and as part of a shared responsibility,” he said.
