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Onus of normalising bilateral relations on Pakistan: Arun Jaitley

Jaitley says the message that India is interested in normalising relations with Pakistan has been “loud and clear”

Web Desk June 19, 2015

Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. PHOTO:AFP

NEW YORK: Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the onus of creating an environment for improving bilateral relations is more on Pakistan, the Press Trust of India reported.

Jaitley made the remarks at a talk held at the New York-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations on the second day of his 10-day visit to the US. He was answering a question on India's foreign policy.

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"With Pakistan, the border frequently becomes tensed, where there are exchanges on that border,” Jaitley said. “I think the message in the context of Pakistan is that India is interested in improving the relationship with Pakistan and therefore the onus of the responsibility for creating an environment in which the relationship can grow would also depend much more on Pakistan and the kind of provocation that comes from there."

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Jaitley added that the message that India is interested in normalising relations with Pakistan and that the onus for this is on Pakistan has been “loud and clear”.

India and Pakistan have lately been involved in a war of words with Modi making statements criticising Pakistan during a recent visit to Dhaka.

COMMENTS (17)

Rex Major | 8 years ago | Reply @Bewildered: 3- To date no authentic original document has been made available. Further, India herself rendered the Accessions null & void by violating the basic condition of the Accession mentioned in clause 8. “8. Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my Sovereignty in and over this State …” You can either believe in #3 or in #8. You can't have it both ways - wait you can, you are Pakistan!

Bewildered | 8 years ago | Reply @ziddi: @BruteForce: "the ruler of the princely State of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the instrument of accession with India" Here are the main points taken from the article "Kashmir: The origins of the dispute, by Victoria Schofield, author of 'Kashmir in Conflict' available on BBC News website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1762146.stm)", in response to your continuous bragging that Maharaja has acceded the state to India. 1- The Maharaja signed a "standstill" agreement with Pakistan instead of India. 2- The then Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten, believed the developing situation would be less explosive if the state were to accede to India, on the understanding that this would only be temporary prior to "a referendum, plebiscite, election". 3- To date no authentic original document has been made available. 4- Pakistan immediately contested the accession, suggesting that it was fraudulent, that the Maharaja acted under duress and that he had no right to sign an agreement with India when the standstill agreement with Pakistan was still in force. 5- By stating that the Instrument of Accession was signed on 26 October, when it clearly was not, Pakistan believes that India has not shown good faith and consequently that this invalidates the Instrument of Accession. 6- Pakistan is also of the view because Hari Singh fled from the valley of Kashmir, he was not in control of his state and therefore not in a position to take a decision on behalf of his people. Further, India herself rendered the Accessions null & void by violating the basic condition of the Accession mentioned in clause 8. "8. Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my Sovereignty in and over this State ..." Soon after signing this Instrument of Accession, India dethroned the Maharaja and placed her puppet government in place.

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BruteForce | 8 years ago | Reply @Ahmad Shah Mohmand: Read the UN Resolutions which you guys keep talking about. The "Onus" indeed is upon Pakistan. It has to remove her troops and meet the conditions of the ceasefire. I've pasted the link and quoted relevant text.

ziddi | 8 years ago | Reply @ Bewildered : Your flights of fantasy notwithstanding, the fact of the matter is that, at the time of independence, the ruler of the princely State of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the instrument of accession with India.This made all of Kashmir an integral part of the Indian Union..The only thing that remains to be done now is for India to regain control of those areas of Jammu & Kashmir that are occupied by Pakistan.

Paki | 8 years ago | Reply @Rex: Plz list few or stop bragging, we know we will benefit nothing from you. @Last Word: we can't lower our standards to meet yours, you probably need to lift up your standards. you have average 45-47 nuclear scientist getting killed from last 20 years. like you have peaceful relations with all your neighbors? you have better with the one that you can undermine, china, pakistan, srilanka, bangladesh(which has submitted to you). you don't have good relations, least to say. More over, we are steam-rolling your sponsored terrorists from our soil. by the way, why does your govt. have pain against CPEC? your thought? plz speak logical this time.

Ahmad Shah Mohmand | 8 years ago | Reply The 'onus' is on Pakistan. Of Course. The Indian PM says Pakistan is a nuisance. The Indian Defence Minister talks of IS getting hold of Pakistan's nuclear assets. An Indian State minister says India will choose a time and place of its own choosing(ostensibly to invade Pakistan). But, of course the 'onus' is on Pakistan. Pathetic. India needs to wake up and smell the coffee

Sher Khan | 8 years ago | Reply Brute force, loved your cherry picking.. Both sides need to withdraw forces from Kashmir. loved your twist to put blame on Pakistani side... let me ask this, when can india agree to withdraw forces from Kashmir. and the condition is tied around plebiscite, india doesn't agree to it then why withdraw forces.. keep hiding behind your malicious lies, serves you best...

Last Word | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistan needs to become a civilised country first and honour its international obligations of peaceful coexistence towards all its neighbours. The country has been accused by neighbours and major world powers of using terror as state policy against all neighboursl for several decades but it remains in mode of continuous denial. India too has made it abundantly clear to Pakistan that terrorism and talks cannot go together which it must abandon for normalsing relations between the two countries. Pakistan for the sake of its own people's welfare and regional peace should unwind its terror machinery for good.

Rex Major | 8 years ago | Reply @A J Khan: "Its totally futile to keep any relation with India" There are as many logical reasons to develop relations with India as there are perhaps emotional reasons to keep away from India. On the other hand, there are many emotional reasons to develop relations with India and there are as many emotional reasons not to do so. Take you pick. Which, the Head or the Gut should rule?

BruteForce | 8 years ago | Reply @samir: Hinduism and Hindus are not similar to Islam and Muslims. You see us all over the world and we are not feared and very peaceful. Even in your own country, your Govt monitors Mosques and Madressahs, but not Temples. When was a Temple attacked by your Military like they attacked Lal Masjid? If its not true in your own country, how can it be true elsewhere? @A J Khan: India wants only one thing from Pakistan - Stopping of Terror. We asked nicely but you guys didn't listen. Now, your Army guys are saying India is upto a lot of mischief in Pakistan. India tried the nice way of dealing with you, our PM even came to Pakistan! 100% of Pakistan's waters come from India. Its only our humanity which hasn't resorted to that step. Your Economy is not even in the G20 and barely growing at half of India's pace. Even Bangladesh's Economy will be bigger than yours in a few years. Pakistan has nothing to give India, while it needs water, Kashmir, trade and peace from India. India is already peaceful.

Rex Major | 8 years ago | Reply @samir: "sorry, we will watch india self destruct in its unfound vanity. another 10 years and it will implode in its hindu extremism agenda." Would you have some empirical data to share with us on this? Or, is this just your gut feeling, perhaps some rumors you have heard? From the m/o 90s when India opened its economy it has grown multi-fold, slow but grown. I wonder where you draw your wisdom from.

BruteForce | 8 years ago | Reply @Bewildered: Dude, you should have read the UN Resolutions before you decided to speak about it. http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/documents/jkunresolution.html "As the presence of troops of Pakistan in the territory of the State of Jammu and Kashmir constitutes a material change in the situation since it was represented by the Government of Pakistan before the Security Council, the Government of Pakistan agrees to withdraw its troops from that State. " So, when is Pakistani Army moving out of our Kashmir? Pakistan should follow the UN Resolutions.

A J Khan | 8 years ago | Reply Its totally futile to keep any relation with India

samir | 8 years ago | Reply sorry, we will watch india self destruct in its unfound vanity. another 10 years and it will implode in its hindu extremism agenda. It has chosen the wrong side by leaving China and Russia.

ghazal | 8 years ago | Reply @ bewildered name suits you

ajeet | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistan should know that there is a different Raj in India now.

Bewildered | 8 years ago | Reply We don't care what India says, but as long as India does not honor her promises of plebiscite made to Kashmiri people and to the world community, our relations with India can never be normal. India should better chose a peaceful, democratic, and honorable way of solving the Kashmir dispute than trying to coerce and bully Pakistan in to submission, in which she can never be successful.

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