ABU DHABI: Pakistan’s International Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday welcomed “third-party mediation” to ease Indo-Pak tensions however denied an India-specific agenda behind his ongoing go to to the UAE.
“I’m right here for a bilateral go to and never an India-specific agenda. My agenda is UAE-Pakistan and never India-Pakistan,” Qureshi, who’s right here on a three-day go to, instructed the native Khaleej Instances newspaper on Sunday.
“I do not suppose a gathering is ready out with the Indian international minister,” he mentioned.
Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is visiting the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday with a deal with bilateral financial cooperation and neighborhood welfare.
Apparently, Jaishankar’s go to coincides with the continuing journey of his Pakistani counterpart to the Gulf emirate amid media stories that the UAE has been holding again channel talks to restart dialogue between the 2 neighbours.
Qureshi mentioned associates typically, together with the UAE, have at all times mentioned that the 2 nations ought to sit and resolve points by way of a dialogue.
“India has at all times been hesitant of a third-party mediation; we welcomed it and have been by no means shy of it, he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
There was hypothesis about prospects of the 2 international ministers assembly within the UAE.
The visits of the 2 leaders to Abu Dhabi comes days after the Emirati ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba mentioned that the UAE performed a task in bringing down the stress between India and Pakistan and getting their bilateral ties again to a “wholesome purposeful relationship”.
“They may not form of develop into finest associates however not less than we wish to get it to a degree the place it is purposeful, the place it is operational, the place they’re talking to one another,” al-Otaiba mentioned throughout a digital dialogue with Stanford College’s Hoover Establishment on Wednesday.
Requested about the potential of a UAE-brokered dialogue, Qureshi mentioned Pakistan welcomes third-party facilitation however, it doesn’t matter what associates say, the initiative must be indigenous.
“The political will must be demonstrated by the management of India and Pakistan.
They are often suggestive and facilitators however, in the end, it’s the individuals of South Asia who must resolve what sort of future they visualise for posterity, he mentioned.
Quite a few stories in latest weeks have advised that the UAE has been brokering a spherical of negotiations between India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan in a shock announcement mentioned on February 25 that they’ve agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire alongside the Line of Management (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and different sectors.
Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror assault on the Pathankot Air Power base in 2016 by terror teams primarily based within the neighbouring nation.
Subsequent assaults, together with one on Indian Military camp in Uri, additional deteriorated the connection.
The connection dipped additional after India’s battle planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist coaching camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror assault during which 40 CRPF jawans have been killed.
The relations deteriorated after India introduced withdrawing particular powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August, 2019.
India has instructed Pakistan that it wishes regular neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an atmosphere freed from terror, hostility and violence.
India has mentioned the onus is on Pakistan to create an atmosphere freed from terror and hostility.
