Aziz blames India’s obduracy for stalemate
Says India suspended the dialogue and now it is its responsibility to take an initiative.
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s top foreign policy aide on Tuesday precluded the possibility of talks with India in the near future, blaming New Delhi’s obduracy for the stalemate.
“We don’t expect any breakthrough on resumption of bilateral dialogue with India while the [Narendra] Modi administration is at the helm,” Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs and national security, told journalists after inaugurating the annual conference of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
“India suspended the dialogue and now it is its responsibility to take an initiative [for reviving the stalled talks],” Aziz said referring to the cancellation of the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks by New Delhi. He added that Pakistan could not compromise on its self-respect and honour for friendship with India.
Highlighting one of the core issues between Pakistan and India, Aziz said Islamabad raised the lingering Kashmir dispute at the United Nations after a bilateral mechanism with India could not deliver results over the past 40 years.
About the current economic situation, Aziz said there was no change in rent-seeking structure of the economy, while the academia urged the government to review anti-poor policies to end poverty that is increasing at an alarming rate. Aziz said the government was creating opportunities for the marginalised segment of society.
The conference has been organised at a time when poverty and inequality are rapidly increasing in the country and the government is not ready to address the structural issues. “Invariably inequality increases when the [economic] growth rate increases,” said Aziz, adding that the root causes of poverty sprang from the power structure of society in which benefits accrued to those who owned land.
Aziz said that macroeconomic policies had an urban bias, in which positive protection was given to industry and the agriculture was put on the backburner. “The free market ideology and adjustment policies of the international institutions such as World Bank have a negative impact on the poor,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2014.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s top foreign policy aide on Tuesday precluded the possibility of talks with India in the near future, blaming New Delhi’s obduracy for the stalemate.
“We don’t expect any breakthrough on resumption of bilateral dialogue with India while the [Narendra] Modi administration is at the helm,” Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs and national security, told journalists after inaugurating the annual conference of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
“India suspended the dialogue and now it is its responsibility to take an initiative [for reviving the stalled talks],” Aziz said referring to the cancellation of the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks by New Delhi. He added that Pakistan could not compromise on its self-respect and honour for friendship with India.
Highlighting one of the core issues between Pakistan and India, Aziz said Islamabad raised the lingering Kashmir dispute at the United Nations after a bilateral mechanism with India could not deliver results over the past 40 years.
About the current economic situation, Aziz said there was no change in rent-seeking structure of the economy, while the academia urged the government to review anti-poor policies to end poverty that is increasing at an alarming rate. Aziz said the government was creating opportunities for the marginalised segment of society.
The conference has been organised at a time when poverty and inequality are rapidly increasing in the country and the government is not ready to address the structural issues. “Invariably inequality increases when the [economic] growth rate increases,” said Aziz, adding that the root causes of poverty sprang from the power structure of society in which benefits accrued to those who owned land.
Aziz said that macroeconomic policies had an urban bias, in which positive protection was given to industry and the agriculture was put on the backburner. “The free market ideology and adjustment policies of the international institutions such as World Bank have a negative impact on the poor,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2014.