Telephone call: Obama takes Nawaz into confidence on India tour

PM asks US president to take up Kashmir issue with Indian leadership.


Our Correspondent November 21, 2014

ISLAMABAD:


US President Barack Obama, who plans to visit India in January, next year, called up Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday evening to take him into confidence on his upcoming trip. “The American president also expressed the desire to take US-Pakistan relations one step beyond the current level,” according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister House.


President Obama said that his administration wished for peaceful and cordial relations between Pakistan and India. In this context, he said, Premier Nawaz’s visit to India in May was a positive step. Nawaz had travelled to New Delhi to attend the inauguration of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory in the elections.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Premier Nawaz referred to his visit to India, which was aimed at taking Pakistan-India relations forward. Subsequent unfortunate steps on India’s part, including cancellation of the foreign secretary-level talks and the unprovoked firing across the LoC/Working Boundary resulting in civilian casualties, indicated that India was averse to normalisation of relations with Pakistan, he added.

“Thus, while we remain open to the resumption of bilateral dialogue, the onus is on India to create a conducive environment in this regard. President Obama expressed his understanding for our position,” he added. The prime minister urged President Obama to take up the cause of Kashmir with the Indian leadership as its early resolution would bring enduring peace, stability and economic cooperation to Asia.

The Foreign Office statement stated that “during their exchanges marked by cordiality, Pakistan-US bilateral relations and the evolving situation in the region were discussed.”

The prime minister recalled his warm and friendly meeting with President Obama in Washington in October last year and their subsequent interaction at the nuclear security summit in The Hague in March this year. He expressed satisfaction at the direction of Pakistan-US relations which were on an upward trajectory since his government came to power last year.

President Obama noted that Pakistan-US relations were strong and robust. He was pleased to see that the Pakistan government had determined the right economic priorities and was successfully overcoming the challenges.

Recalling an invitation extended in Washington, the prime minister conveyed the expectation of the people of Pakistan to welcome President Obama to Pakistan sometime in the future. The US leader assured Nawaz that he would undertake a visit to Pakistan at an early date as soon as the situation normalised in the country.

Discussing the regional situation, the prime minister referred to the improvement of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations as were manifest in President Ashraf Ghani’s recent visit to Islamabad. The US president appreciated the prime minister’s efforts in this regard and called it pivotal for peace and stability in the region.

The two leaders agreed to stay engaged to further strengthen Pakistan-US relations in their common desire to promote peace and prosperity in South Asia.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2014.

COMMENTS (55)

AmericanMuse | 9 years ago | Reply

@Hamid: It is unfair to compare India and Pakistan. While India is a major world power with 1.2 billion people, Pakistan is an averaged sized developing country beset with many serious religious and economic problems.

Sunil | 9 years ago | Reply

@Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad: I hope you do invite him over, he was a KGB elite who has a long memory of what happened in Afghanistan. Times do change though and I wish Pakistani's all the best in your endeavour to be a "super power".

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