'Long-standing tradition to talk to separatists', is Pak's reply to India's new-look approach to ties
New Delhi: Pakistan's envoy to India Abdul Basit defended his recent talks with Kashmiri separatists on Wednesday, saying that including them in the dialogue is the only way to find a lasting peace between the South Asian rivals.
Abdul Basit spoke to reporters in New Delhi two days after India called off diplomatic talks with Pakistan because Basit met with separatist leaders in the violence-wracked region.
India said the meeting undermined efforts to thaw relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors. But India has tolerated such meetings in the past, which suggests the country's new government is taking a harder line against Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. Both countries control parts of the Himalayan region and claim it in its entirety. That dispute is at the heart of the lingering animosity between the rivals.
Basit said that Pakistan's diplomats in India have been meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders for decades because the people of Kashmir are at the heart of any lasting peace between the two countries.
"The objective of interacting with Kashmiri leaders is precisely to talk to all the stakeholders to find a viable, peaceful solution to the problem," Basit said. India and Pakistan agreed to resume talks in May when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the inauguration of his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
- We pursue our good and normal relationship with India
- We are convinced that pak problems with India will be resolved through meaningful dialogue
- Must appreciate prome minister modis speech
- If we work together we will be placed in a far better position to resolve our common challenges
- Had a positive constructive meeting on 27th may
- Pakistan stability is linked with peace in Afghanistan
- We want a stable relation with India
- We must engage with a comprehensive and meaningful dialogue, time has come to move forward
- Appreciate PM Modi's words on Independence Day that SAARC nations need to work together to fight issues like poverty
- Have resolved to cleanse our land from all militants within 8-10 weeks,Pak Army ops underway in Waziristan
- Kashmiris are legitimate stakeholders in finding a peaceful solution to the issue
- Though its a setback that Secy talks are off, but this should not discourage us, have to take process forward
- This (Kashmir) is a dispute, which needs to be resolved peacefully, both countries committed to resolving it
- This has been a long-standing practice, have nothing more to add to this: Abdul Basit on meet with separatists
- If India and Pakistan work together, sky is the limit
- We need to look at these issues (Kashmir) dispassionately and in a more realistic manner
- When the two PMs met, they defined a bilateral agenda and that is what we're working for since May this year
- Would like to tell you that India violated ceasefire 57 times, so yes we need to resolve it
- J&K is a different issue, Indian Diplomats keep meeting people of all hues, no problem-Abdul Basit, Pak Envoy on if India met Baloch leaders
- Cancellation of Foreign Secretary-level talks by India should not discourage the two countries to find a peaceful solution to all issues
- ‘No meeting finalised between PM Modi and Nawaz Sharif in New York next month’
