Islamabad : Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Monday underscored that Pakistan will not hold dialogue with India on her terms, adding that there can be no dialogue without the water issue and Kashmir as topics for discussion.
Speaking to journalist representatives in Islamabad after an inauguration of the 10th meeting of heads of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries, he said that even if cordial terms are not possible with India, Pakistan wants to maintain tension-free relations with India.
Sartaj reiterated that Pakistan would take up India’s anti-Pakistan statements with the United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. He said that Pakistan desires to resume dialogue with India with particular focus on resolving Kashmir and water issue. He said that Pakistan would also raise these issues on the platform of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting being held in Jeddah tomorrow.
The adviser also said that he was scheduled to visit a foreign minister’s conference by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah tomorrow, where the Yemen-Saudi conflict and the plight of Rohingya Muslims will be taken up. Last week, the Senate passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning recent provocative statements made by the top Indian leadership, including the threat of attacks on Pakistani territory.
The resolution had said that the House emphasises that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be violated by India under any pretext, and that Pakistan’s armed forces are capable of issuing a befitting response to any such incursion. The Upper House of the parliament had urged the international community to take notice of India’s provocative statements, which did not bode well for regional peace and affected prospects of sovereignty and stability.
