Abdul Basit likens India-Pakistan relations to that of saas-bahu: report

Pakistan's high commissioner to India apologises later for his statement, says he did not mean to trivialize relations

Comparing Indian and Pakistan's "conflict-riddled" relationship to that of a "saas and bahu", Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit said on Wednesday that he hoped the Indian premier's visit to his country for the SAARC summit will lead to a resumption of peace talks.

"Indo-Pakistan relation is riddled with conflicts and issues. Despite the abundance of mutual goodwill, we have not allowed this relation to grow as normal. We talk to each other for years... one little incident on the Line of Control and we stop talking like saas and bahu," Basit said during an event in Kolkata.

Probed by the media regarding his statement, the envoy clarified that he did not intend to trivialise relation between the neighbouring countries by likening them to 'saas bahu' and apologised.

"My intention was not to trivialise anything. There is no harm in saying difficult things in a lighter vein. My intention was not to trivialise, but if you think that way, I apologise," he said.

He was, however, optimistic about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Pakistan.

"The next summit will be in Pakistan and we hope that it will be a huge success because all SAARC leaders will be there. One hopes that PM Modi's visit to Pakistan would add more to it beyond the SAARC issues," he said.

Basit said Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhury was a positive development and could lead to "something tangible".

Though he was optimistic about dialogue between the neighbouring countries, Basit said Pakistan was in no hurry and would wait for India.

"If India feels it is not yet the right time to talk, we can wait... but we will like to see this engagement to resume as quickly as possible. We are also not in a hurry in that sense," he said.

This article originally appeared on NDTV