“Pakistan wishes to have good relations with all countries. We want to promote peace and development in the region,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said while addressing a weekly news briefing on Thursday.
He said that normalisation of relations between the two countries was a key to peace and development in the region. “As far as Pakistan is concerned, we are committed to good neighbourly relations,” he said, stressing that disputes and issues between Pakistan and India needed to be resolved through dialogue.
“Pakistan, therefore, will welcome any proposal from India that will help promote peace in the region and improve bilateral relations,” Khalilullah added hinting at the easing of tensions.
The spokesperson, however, added Pakistan would take all possible steps to protect its national interest when he was questioned about the government’s recent announcement of taking up the issue with the United Nations.
After days of verbal hostility between India and Pakistan, both sides appear to be ready for deescalating the rising tension after a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
The reconciliatory tone of the Foreign Office suggests the call from Modi on Tuesday helped ease the tensions. The two countries had been embroiled in a war of words after the Indian leadership, including PM Modi, made some controversial remarks about Pakistan. Islamabad was particularly upset over the threats of ‘surgical strikes’ by some Indian cabinet members and PM Modi’s speech in Dhaka, where he admitted India’s role in the events of 1971 which led to the creation of Bangladesh.
During the telephonic talk, PM Nawaz had, however, urged Modi to avoid ‘warmongering’ and instead work for promoting peace. He also emphasized that the two neighbours must not allow mutual differences to become an obstacle in bilateral relations.
Joint efforts against IS
Khalilullah also said that Pakistan would consider request from any country, including Iran, for joint action against the ultra-extremist militant group Islamic State to prevent it from getting its foothold in the region.
Iran has reportedly proposed joint efforts along with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent the spread of IS, which has established a self-styled caliphate on vast swathes of land under its control in Iraq and Syria.
When asked, Qazi also dismissed the reports that the militant group had a ‘footprint’ in Pakistan.
UN pleads for peace
The United Nations has also urged Pakistan and India to redouble efforts to ease tensions following the latest verbal duel between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
During a briefing at the world body’s headquarters in New York, UN Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq said that it was essential for the neighbouring countries to take steps to ease tensions and try to resolve issues peacefully.
“We continue to urge the two countries to continue to engage and try to resolve the situation peacefully and amicably between themselves,” Haq said in reply to a question at the regular midday briefing.
The spokesperson said UN continued to encourage peaceful resolution of bilateral issues between India and Pakistan, which had entered a new, stepped-up phase in their verbal skirmishing over the past few weeks.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2015.
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