Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday asked Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to hold sincere and serious talks to resolve burning issues, including Kashmir.
In an interview with Al Arabiya TV news channel, the prime minister said, “My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Modi is that let us sit together at the table and have sincere and serious talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir.”
In Occupied Kashmir, flagrant human rights violations were occurring daily, PM Shehbaz said. He added India had usurped any semblance of autonomy given to the Kashmiris according to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The autonomy was revoked in August 2019.
Minorities in India were being persecuted, PM Shehbaz said. “India must stop this so that message can go around the world that India is ready for talks.”
Talks only option for peace future
PM Shehbaz said India and Pakistan were neighbours and had to live with each other.
“It depends on us to live peacefully, make progress, quarrel with each other, and waste time and resources. We had three wars with India, which only brought more misery, unemployment, and poverty to the people. We have learned our lesson and want to live in peace, provided we can resolve our genuine issues.
“We want to achieve prosperity, alleviate poverty, and provide health and education facilities and employment opportunities to our people and not waste our own resources on destructive bombs and ammunition; that is my message to Prime Minister Modi,” PM Shehbaz added.
UAE role in Pak-India talks
The prime minister said the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could play an essential role in bringing India and Pakistan together. He said he would hold talks with the Indian leadership to resolve issues.
PM Shehbaz said Saudi Arabia was a friendly and brotherly country and had unique brotherly ties for centuries.
The prime minister recalled that before Pakistan came into being, millions of Muslims had brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and were visiting Madina and Makkah.
The PM said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was a second home for millions of Pakistani people, and he had undertaken a successful visit to the country as prime minister.
PM Shehbaz said the Pakistani nation was resilient and brave and would stand on its own by promoting trade and investment.
To a question, he said the world’s survival lay in co-existence, and what was happening in eastern Europe had devastated the world, and commodity prices had skyrocketed.
