Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be welcomed in Pakistan whenever he wishes to visit, the country's High Commissioner said here today even as he noted that both sides are in touch with each other for a meeting between their foreign secretaries.
"Modi will be welcomed whenever he comes to Pakistan....
We hope the high-level visit will take place," Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said during an interaction with the media at the Press Club of India. The Pakistani envoy termed as "good beginning" the meeting between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in May here and said both of them struck a chord.
Sharif had come here to participate in Modi's oath taking ceremony as Prime Minister. He said Pakistan was in touch with India for a meeting between their foreign secretaries as had been decided during talks between Modi and Sharif. "We are in touch with each other and things are moving forward," Basit said while replying to a question on the issue.
Holding that genesis of all issues stemmed from dispute over Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani envoy expressed his government's resolve for better ties with India and said engagement without interruption will be fundamental to achieve something. "The genesis of all disputes finds origin in the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.... We need to resolve all the issues," he said while expressing Pakistan's strong commitment to improve ties with India for stability in the region.
Noting that there was compatibility between thinking of his government and new ruling dispensation in India, he said both countries need each other to deal with major challenges like terrorism and climate change. Asked about "delay" in trial of 26/11 attack accused and the reported threat to prosecutors handling the case, Basit refused to give a direct reply but said Pakistan was committed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Anjum have been charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks in India's financial capital that killed 166 people in November 2008.
Stressing on the need to leave behind the "stereotypes" that Pakistan and India have about each other, Basit said all outstanding issues should be resolved on the basis of mutual respect. Replying to a separate question on granting of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India by Pakistan, he said Commerce Ministers of both the countries will meet on July 24 and hinted that the issue may figure in the talks.
India had accorded MFN status to Pakistan in 1990s and removed some non-tariff barriers while Pakistan had agreed to return the favour in 2011. However, it is yet to accord the status to India. Pitching for better ties with India, the Pakistani envoy sought "engagement without interruption" between the two countries to combat various challenges including menace of terrorism and said improved Indo-Pak relation was key to regional peace and stability.
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