New Delhi: India on Friday (December 3) rebuffed the Pakistani foreign minister’s call for New Delhi to create an environment conducive to restarting trade ties.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar urged India to take steps towards improving bilateral relations. Speaking at a press conference, Dar highlighted the importance of trade ties with India, but added that “it takes two to tango”, indicating that India has to also show interest.
Responding to Dar’s comments during the weekly media briefing, external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal offered a pointed reply.
“Regarding the remarks made by the Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister, I would like to refer to ‘tango.’ The relevant T-word here is ‘terrorism,’ not ‘tango,’” Jaiswal said.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been particularly strained over the past decade. In August 2019, following New Delhi’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, Pakistan severed trade ties with India as part of a series of measures.
Political engagement between the two nations has also been minimal, with the only recent bilateral interactions occurring during ministerial meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation under each country’s chairship of the grouping.
India maintains that any engagement can occur only if Pakistan ceases its support for cross-border terrorism.
