India on Thursday said the U.S. is welcome to engage Islamabad to end cross-border terrorism emanating from the Pakistani territory. The statement came after Islamabad said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had a telephone conversation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in which the latter expressed “willingness” to play a role in resolving Pakistan’s “outstanding issues”.
“The conversation does talk about the President-elect willing to resolve the outstanding issues of Pakistan. Well, we believe the most outstanding of the outstanding issues is Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism. To that extend, we welcome a dialogue between the U.S. and Pakistan to resolve that particular issue,” said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry.
“Pakistan as a country has a long record of carrying out cross-border terror attacks. This puts Pakistan at odds with the rest of the international community,” he added.
‘Very good reputation’
According to a statement issued by Pakistan, Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Sharif had the conversation on Wednesday night. “President Trump said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, you have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way,” the release said.
Islamabad welcomed Mr. Trump’s “willingness” to play a role in resolving “outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir”, according to a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
In Washington, Mr. Trump’s transition team issued a statement, saying the Preident-elect is “looking forward to a lasting and strong personal relationship” with Prime Minister Sharif.
“President-elect Donald Trump and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, spoke today and had a productive conversation about how the United States and Pakistan will have a strong working relationship in the future,” it said.
