ISLAMABAD: Amid war talks by India after Uri attack, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit on Sunday ruled out the notion of both countries going to war.
He said “I strongly believe Pakistan and India do not gain anything from creating hype. War is not a solution, war creates more problems.”
“We can perhaps afford not to talk to each other for some time, but addressing our many bilateral, regional and global challenges can only happen through dialogue”, the high commissioner said in an interview with Telegraph India, an Indian English daily.
He said: “I am not ready to give up on that. We should not allow war hysteria to dominate our narrative.”
He said investigation was yet going on to determine what really happened in Uri so it was important not to draw premature conclusions. “It is not helpful to jump the gun,” he remarked.
He said Pakistan had extended all out cooperation after Pathankot incident and things were moving in the right direction. Both the countries could prevent the situation from worsening, if the spirit was maintained.
“I am a diplomat and I would like diplomacy to win. I, for once, would not like to believe that bilateral diplomacy has exhausted itself,” Abdul Basit remarked recalling Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s remarks at UN General Assembly that Pakistan desired to have a normal, co-operative relationship with India and resolve all problems peacefully.
He said Pakistan believed that issues should be resolved only through peaceful means and there is no other way.
To a question, he categorically made it clear that Pakistan had nothing to do with the Uri attack as it was committed to not allowing its territory be used for violence anywhere in the world.
He said problems in Indo-Pak ties did not begin with the Mumbai attack, Pathankot or Uri attacks, rather they fought three wars, besides a military conflict over Kargil.
But both countries agreed that there was a long-pending issue of Jammu and Kashmir, needing resolution. “Be it UN Security Council Resolutions or even the Simla Accord, both countries agreed on resolving this problem through dialogue”, he added.
“It is important to understand what keeps bedeviling our relationship and what keeps bringing mistrust between us. We feel it is imperative not to shy away from addressing the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the high commissioner said.
Responding to a question, Abdul Basit said Kashmir issue could not be brushed under the carpet as what was happening in Occupied Kashmir, in Srinagar and surrounding areas, manifested the seriousness of the problem.
“Pakistan is not asking for something that is unrealistic or unfair. Kashmir is the central problem between us. I am not saying other issues are not important, they are, but Kashmir we have to settle,” he remarked.
The High Commissioner Basit said “the idea of having diplomatic engagement is to not allow those forces which want the two of us to resolve problems and usher in a new era of co-operation.”
“We have to transcend this process of one step forward, two steps back. But it requires two to tango,” Abdul Basit said.—INP
