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Jan 18, 2023

Pakistan PM Sharif Asks for Talks With India, Govt Later Adds 'Only if 370 Action Revoked'

“My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir," Shahbaz Sharif said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Photo: 	RedGerbera/CC BY-SA 3.0

New Delhi: The Pakistani prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, on Monday (January 16) asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold serious talks about issues that remained unresolved between the two countries, including Kashmir. He also said that United Arab Emirates could play a diplomatic role in encouraging and mediating these talks.

Speaking to Al Arabiya news channel, Sharif said, “My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir. In Kashmir, flagrant human rights violations are taking place day in and day out.”

In Jammu and Kashmir, Sharif claimed, the reading down of Article 370 has led to a breakdown of the region’s autonomy. He also added that minorities are being persecuted in India, and this must stop if the country wants to prove to the world that it is serious about the issue, Dawn reported.

“It is up to us [India and Pakistan] to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other, and waste time and resources. We have three wars with India and it only brought more misery, poverty and unemployment to the people. We have learnt our lesson and we want to live in peace provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems. We want to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity, and provide education and health facilities and employment to our people and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition, that is the message I want to give to PM Modi,” Sharif said.

“We are nuclear powers, armed to the teeth and if God forbid a war breaks out who will live to tell what happened,” he continued.

After the interview, however, the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that while Sharif had consistently called for talks, his offer came with a rider. “…the [Pakistani] Prime Minister has repeatedly stated on record that talks can only take place after India had reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019; without India’s revocation of this step, negotiations are not possible. The settlement of the Kashmir dispute must be in accordance with the UN resolutions and the aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” the statement said.

India has not responded to Sharif’s remarks.

In an editorial on Wednesday, Hindustan Times noted that Sharif’s statements could be read as a “trial ballon”, to see how New Delhi responds. “Mr Sharif’s comments could be seen as a trial balloon to gauge the thinking in Delhi. While the Indian government has spoken of restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, it is unlikely the status of the region will be changed. Thus, if Mr Sharif were to cling to the plank of revoking the decision of August 2019, talks will be a non-starter. The window for any engagement too appears extremely narrow, with Pakistan set to hold elections this year and India in 2024. If a beginning is to be made, the two sides should focus on the resumption of trade and upgrading of diplomatic ties,” the newspaper said.

The Times of India too spoke of Sharif’s offer in its editorial, saying that the prime minister was trying to turn attention away from the many crises in Pakistan by focusing on Kashmir. “Sharif should concentrate on trying to fix Pakistan’s own, deepening problems rather than chase grand talks with New Delhi. Pakistan’s economy is a basket case. As of January 6, forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan plunged to $4.34 billion, just enough to cover three weeks of imports. Things have been further exacerbated by the devastating floods last year that drenched one-third of the country, displaced 8 million people, and dealt a body-blow to its agriculture sector. Meanwhile, inflation is forecast to stay between a whopping 21-23% with severe shortages of essentials like flour and fuel,” the ToI editorial says.

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