NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (PTI): India on Thursday said an environment free of terror and hostilities is imperative for normal ties with Islamabad, days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his willingness to hold talks with New Delhi.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India wants normal ties with all its neighbouring countries including Pakistan and the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment for such an engagement.
He was responding to queries relating to comments by Sharif.
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“We have seen reports regarding comments by the Pakistan prime minister on this issue. India’s clear and consistent position on this is well known,” Bagchi said.
“We desire normal neighbourly relations with all our neighbours including Pakistan. For this an environment free of terror and hostility is imperative,” he added.
On Tuesday, Sharif offered to hold talks with India to address all serious and outstanding issues as he said that “war is not an option” for both countries.
“We are prepared to talk with everyone, even with our neighbour, provided that the neighbour is serious to talk serious matters on the table because war is no more an option,” he said, referring to India.
The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019 announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
To a question on the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Bagchi said India has been opposing the project as it goes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
Asked about Pakistan planning to mount anti-India rhetoric in view of the fourth anniversary of revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Bagchi said Islamabad’s propaganda has not been working.
