India ready to resolve all issues: Khar
Stresses on importance of building an atmosphere of trust between the two countries.
LAHORE:
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar reiterated her stance on having an uninterrupted and uninterruptible talks with India over all outstanding issues and that it was vital to ‘clear the air’ between the two nations, normalizing ties, on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference following her arrival at Lahore Airport, Khar said that she could safely say that the delegation saw a reciprocity on part of the Indian foreign ministry and the Indian government to normalize and improve relations with Pakistan and to take them to a different level, that of a good, friendly and neighborly relations. She added that the a medium term objective of at least, is to make this process (talks) uninterrupted and uninterruptible. She placated fears of another say-all-do-nothing round of talks, saying a lot of groundwork is needed to bring talks back on track.
FM Khar reiterated that the talks were open and honest with dialogue on practically every ‘prickly’ issue, whether at operation or strategic level, that exist between the two countries which was encouraging for a bilateral and constructive relations between both countries.
She cited the joint statement, issued after her talks with SM Krishna, for more details and mentioned the highlights, comprising LoC trade CBMs, engagements over peace and security, visa regime, Indus water treaty and its centrality between India and Pakistan and the intention to reconvene the Pakistan-India joint commission, which to her, were signs of ties returning to normalcy.
Khar mentioned that PM Manmohan Singh greeted the delegation warmly, expressing India’s sincerity and commitment over resolving all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir issue. She also spoke of her conveying PM Gilani’s invitation to PM Singh for visiting Pakistan, which was accepted graciously, though the details are yet to be decided.
Answering a question, she reiterated that the bilateral process needs to be uninterrupted so as not to lose the momentum gained in recent years, in mere hours, hence the need to ‘clear the air’ right now and re-engagement was important with a forward looking commitment to work out all issues.
“As of now it is important for Pakistan to normalize relations with India, since it’s a pre-requisite for us in order to resolve the issues mentioned in the question”, Khar said.
The FM said that during the talks no one back tracked from their stated positions, legal and political position.
On her meeting with Kashmiri leaders, she said that she had conveyed Pakistan’s stated position on the Kashmir issue and that Kashmir was an important stakeholder in determining the (people’s) fate.
She admitted that, as of now, the ‘stated positions’ on issues, of both the countries, were diverging but she stressed upon reforming our policy towards India and build a trust between each other, instead of considering them as an enemy state, since India wants a peaceful Pakistan as well.
Khar said that we have had differences for years and will continue having them but both countries need to give our relationship a chance since it is important for the region and for people of both nations, stressing upon a ‘people centric’ approach since without security, there can be no development.
She said that we have had continuous talks with India over the water dispute and that we should protect the sanctity of the Indus Water treaty. There are operational difficulties but the sanctity of the Indus Water treaty was vital for Pakistan.
Talking on trade with India, she said that ‘sky is the limit’ in terms of increasing the business volume since both countries have a lot of potential.
On the Indian media’s obsession with her, she dismissed it as a ‘paparazzi’ reporting by them. She said she was there for serious talks.
Earlier this week, the Pakistani Foreign Minister was in India for peace talks, where in she met her counterpart SM Krishna, including India'a top leadership.
(Read: Pakistan-India talks: Hina Rabbani Khar arrives in New Delhi)
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar reiterated her stance on having an uninterrupted and uninterruptible talks with India over all outstanding issues and that it was vital to ‘clear the air’ between the two nations, normalizing ties, on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference following her arrival at Lahore Airport, Khar said that she could safely say that the delegation saw a reciprocity on part of the Indian foreign ministry and the Indian government to normalize and improve relations with Pakistan and to take them to a different level, that of a good, friendly and neighborly relations. She added that the a medium term objective of at least, is to make this process (talks) uninterrupted and uninterruptible. She placated fears of another say-all-do-nothing round of talks, saying a lot of groundwork is needed to bring talks back on track.
FM Khar reiterated that the talks were open and honest with dialogue on practically every ‘prickly’ issue, whether at operation or strategic level, that exist between the two countries which was encouraging for a bilateral and constructive relations between both countries.
She cited the joint statement, issued after her talks with SM Krishna, for more details and mentioned the highlights, comprising LoC trade CBMs, engagements over peace and security, visa regime, Indus water treaty and its centrality between India and Pakistan and the intention to reconvene the Pakistan-India joint commission, which to her, were signs of ties returning to normalcy.
Khar mentioned that PM Manmohan Singh greeted the delegation warmly, expressing India’s sincerity and commitment over resolving all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir issue. She also spoke of her conveying PM Gilani’s invitation to PM Singh for visiting Pakistan, which was accepted graciously, though the details are yet to be decided.
Answering a question, she reiterated that the bilateral process needs to be uninterrupted so as not to lose the momentum gained in recent years, in mere hours, hence the need to ‘clear the air’ right now and re-engagement was important with a forward looking commitment to work out all issues.
“As of now it is important for Pakistan to normalize relations with India, since it’s a pre-requisite for us in order to resolve the issues mentioned in the question”, Khar said.
The FM said that during the talks no one back tracked from their stated positions, legal and political position.
On her meeting with Kashmiri leaders, she said that she had conveyed Pakistan’s stated position on the Kashmir issue and that Kashmir was an important stakeholder in determining the (people’s) fate.
She admitted that, as of now, the ‘stated positions’ on issues, of both the countries, were diverging but she stressed upon reforming our policy towards India and build a trust between each other, instead of considering them as an enemy state, since India wants a peaceful Pakistan as well.
Khar said that we have had differences for years and will continue having them but both countries need to give our relationship a chance since it is important for the region and for people of both nations, stressing upon a ‘people centric’ approach since without security, there can be no development.
She said that we have had continuous talks with India over the water dispute and that we should protect the sanctity of the Indus Water treaty. There are operational difficulties but the sanctity of the Indus Water treaty was vital for Pakistan.
Talking on trade with India, she said that ‘sky is the limit’ in terms of increasing the business volume since both countries have a lot of potential.
On the Indian media’s obsession with her, she dismissed it as a ‘paparazzi’ reporting by them. She said she was there for serious talks.
Earlier this week, the Pakistani Foreign Minister was in India for peace talks, where in she met her counterpart SM Krishna, including India'a top leadership.
(Read: Pakistan-India talks: Hina Rabbani Khar arrives in New Delhi)