ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Wednesday said that Pakistan was ready to hold unconditional dialogue with India, however made it clear that ‘holding talks would be Pakistan’s strength, not weakness’.
‘After wars [with India], we want resolution of issues through dialogue. If we are ready for dialogue, it is our strength, not weakness,’ the High Commissioner said in an interview with BBC Urdu.
Abdul Basit said that, ‘Pakistan in last many decades had worked out several frameworks to hold talks with India on all issues.’
‘The basic thing is that dialogue should be a comprehensive one, including all issues,’ he said.
On Indian External Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement that dialogue and terrorism cannot go side by side, the High Commissioner said that, ‘Pakistan could also put up similar conditions such as situation in Jammu and Kashmir and withdrawal of troops from Siachen.’
However, he said, ‘Problems could only be resolved at the dialogue table.’
Basit said, ‘Due to confrontation, both Pakistan and India were not making progress.’
‘Negotiations are the need of South Asia and the entire world…We waited for it earlier and would continue to do so,’ he said.
