KL News Network
Srinagar
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit today said that Pakistan is ready for a dialogue with India on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar next week.
Speaking to Aaj Tak, Basit said that the schedule of Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz is not cast in stone and if there was an offer for talks from the host nation, then it would be accepted by Pakistan.
Calling for a resumption of the stalled dialogue process between India and Pakistan, Basit said, “We can delay talks for months or even for years. But ultimately, a solution to the problems between India and Pakistan can only come through dialogue.”
Amid tensed situation at LoC between India and Pakistan, Basit called for an end to hostilities and for the 2003 LoC ceasefire to be turned into a formal agreement.
“Escalation along the Line of Control is not in Pakistan’s interest. The Pakistan army is heavily deployed along the country’s western borders as part of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and it is wrong to say that the escalation is being fuelled by Pakistan. We would like that hostilities along the Line of Control come to an end and that the 2003 ceasefire understanding is turned into a formal agreement between India and Pakistan,” he said.
The Pakistani High Commissioner also said that the uneventful transition from one army chief to another showed a strengthening of democracy in the country. “Pakistan’s democracy has matured in a way that the era of military coups is over. The voice of the people and democracy is becoming stronger,” Basit said.
