“We can talk to Pakistan in five different languages. So, there is no need for anyone in the world to play a role,” said Ansari while speaking to the media.
The long-strained relations between the two countries started to improve recently as talks, halted after the Mumbai 2008 incident, resumed this year following the appointment of Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
On Friday, both countries finalised the draft of new Bilateral Visa Agreement to ease travel for nationals of either country desiring to visit the other.
(Read: Steps towards peace?)
Pakistan, in principle, also decided to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India which provides trade equality by ensuring that an importing country will not discriminate against another country’s goods in favour of those from a third. The trade ministers of both countries also announced that trade between the two countries would soon reach $6 billion a year, more than double the current amount.
India also dropped its objections to the European Union importing goods from Pakistan duty-free.
COMMENTS (29)
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Whatever is happening in Kashmir is between the people of Kashmir valley and Indian government, if Pakistan wants Indo-Pak relations to remain hostile because of that, then so be it, you can wait all your life for "Kashmir banega Pakistan" dream of yours, keep on wasting your men, money and machines on it, your loss, not ours:))
@Qasim: you mean pakistan,where you put india
@jagjit sidhoo: Apart from Dr. Zakir Hussain and Dr. Abdul Kalam, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was India's 5th President. Another non-Hindu President was Giani Zail Singh.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui who writes..."Pakistan and India have been talking for the last 64 years and till date India have not reached to a conclusion as whether to give rights for self-determination to the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir."
Well Muhammad...India had reached a conclusion regarding giving the right to self determination of kashmiris long long time ago.
There's no question of giving that. They will live as Indians in Kashmir or Pakistanis in Pakistan.
However, talks should be and will be about how open the LOC can be turned into, so that the people of both Kashmirs can travel back and forth easily.
@Pundit: Dr Zakir Hussain became the third president in 1967 &Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam became the 11th president in 2002
@Ikramuddin Akbar: mutton and kabab i get. but whats the diffrence between meat and beef?you mean pork?,coz chicken is chicken. i dont really know what statement means but i'll say this that amritsari tandoori mutton is amazing,try it smtime. and bytheway hamid ansari is muslim thats y he has a muslim name.why is it so hard for you guys to accept that muslims can prosper in india if they wish too.
When you are a dominant power in a region and there are no equals or greater powers to snatch away your belongings, you can dictate terms. Pure and simple.
Nothing Pakistan can do, or has done in the past can persuade India to give up what Pakistan thinks is its.
As a result this conflict has had more effect on Pakistan, than it could ever have on India. That is the reason why the 2 states are in such different positions today.
why should INDIA leave Indian Kashmir( the whole of Kashmir - 1 with Pakisthan( POK) and the other is Askai Chin( COK))....you guys please leave it because its our ancestoral land
The only "language" India understands is the language of might and strength.
They're one country which has a history of meddling with every neighbor around them, big or small. Bigger ones like Pakistan and China manage to withstand this aggression, many smaller ones don't. They tried to foster insurgent groups in Sri Lanka, for example. And when this didn't work, they directly sent in their Indian Army. They were severely beaten and had to rush out in a short while.
That is the language of might and strength, and the only thing India understands. Throughout our history, every opportunity they've gotten, they've tried to stab us in the back whenever we're even a little vulnerable.
us resolution also requires pakistan to vacate the pok portion before anything else has to happen. and all those who believe any third party is going to be fevorable to pakistan in these times,are dreaming like pakistanis always do
Ansari Saab, lets level this . . . . So when will you leave Kashmir without a third party in the Indo/Pak talks. Tell us in any language with the exact date. . . 64 years have already passed. Salams.
It may not be needed but it can't hurt, either. At the very least with all the things to argue about, this doesn't have to be one of them. Just go with it, it can't hurt a thing. Mediators aren't Dictators. You still have just as much power as you did before. You just might get told to shutup in some polite politically correct way every now and then. You can still look good by saying "we don't want or feel we need one but if the other side desires it so be it" as it makes you look fair rather than stubborn, and fair will win out with the public in talks. Also, really, it can't hurt for Pakistan to have an impartial witness backing them up these days either.
Chinese is the best language to negotiate, but without interpreters!
@amit: But please! hope you will avoid foul and abusive" languages" if you have command on these! Right!
@Pundit: You say your country is a secular state, when did it change it's law? any reason for being concern on a Muslim president.What would the congress do without Muslims.Don't disturb the "atmaas" of Nehru jee and Indira jee.
@ Ansari sahab, We want to talk in chinese now please can u hire some ching pong. @ Pundit Nice point i am speech less ommmommm.
@Jacky: Because now they have also started eating meat,kabab, mutton and beef "Biryanis". Good sign !
LOL, Why do hindus start using muslim names
So how do you say "mass graves" in those 5 languages??
Funny how India likes to brush inconvenient facts like these under the carpet: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/29/kashmirmassgraves?page=full
No can do . . . All those languages did not work out for the last 65 years but did help India with terrorist activities in Pakistan . . . .so far, thats the only use for India. The third party UN is very important and much needed and India should not be allowed to white wash the Kashmiris right of self determination, their human right granted to them by UN resolution. Also genocide and crimes on humanity inflicted by the illegal Indian occupation of Kashmir. . . including water rights and such issues need UN interference and honoring of UN resolution. The UN third party is very important and much needed between India and Pakistan as after God, UN and UN alone can help Pakistan. Plus Pakistan cannot allow India to stampede long standing issues. Pakistan has to push for and resolve important long standing issues as priority. It has to stand for humanity, principles and human dignity otherwise it will lose its respect as a nation more than ever in its history. Pakistan is not for sale!!
Pakistan and India have been talking for the last 64 years and till date India have not reached to a conclusion as whether to give rights for self-determination to the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Though the Indian Vice President is optimistic that “there is no need for third-party in Indo-Pak talks”, but I am confident that unless India and Pakistan will not allow a third-party mediation, nothing is going to move forward for an indefinite period from the present status-quo.
Let’s not do the daydreaming any more and listen to the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir where hundreds of thousands people have been brutally been killed by the Indian Armed Forces and want the self-determination to make a separate state.
@amit: No wonder only talk but no communication.
WE INDIAN TALK TO PAKISTAN IN 1145 LANGUAGES.
This language rationale is absurd at best. Any 3rd party will put Indian position weak since India is already against UN resolution, occupying Kashmir illegally, it's human right abuses, Samjhota massacre and failure to provide international community any tangible evidence on Mumbai drama except occasional media rhetoric.
Breakthrough between India and Pakistan is in the interest of both of the countries , Kashmiri’s and region. World around us is thumping on our closed door to open it up and let the development and prosperity do some charity for us. Once foreign forces from Afghanistan are out, extremism could also be defeated with power of development and prosperity. Bangladesh has launched its “Doel” laptop with price tag of 130 dollars and India on 6th October offered its Akash to student at a price of 35 dollars. Bangladesh has been offered huge loans to develop its solar energy plants.
Hamid Ansri sounds like muslim name...what is he doing as an Indian Vice President...
What extent these Indians will go to show that muslims are happy in India!
We can talk to PAK in five different languages
I am sure he meant Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, Phastu and Kashmiri, but it still created a chuckle in me given what US says about PAK under current situation.