People living in glass houses should not be throwing stones at others, the Indian envoy in Pakistan has said as he described Kashmir as an internal matter of India.
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was answering questions on the Kashmir issue and the recent statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Balochistan, at an interactive session organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations on Monday
“There are problems in both India and Pakistan and you [Pakistan] should focus on resolving your problems before looking into the problems of other countries. The Prime Minister, in his August 15 independence day speech, only referred to the letters he had received,” he said.
The Government of India had been saying: “Let’s work together to get to the bottom of terrorism which is a headache not only for Pakistan, but for India and the world.''
The two countries should not be talking on just one issue, but on all issues, he noted.
When asked whether Mr. Modi will visit Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) regional summit in November, Mr. Bambawale said, “Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the SAARC summit”.
Over the past one-and-a-half month, there had been “cordial” interactions between Pakistani and Indian border forces. Several meetings of the SAARC were also held.
Mr. Bambawale called for greater trade ties between Pakistan and India. He said political issues will take time to resolve.
Pakistan should also grant India the Most-Favoured Nation status. “There should be more participation in trade fairs and more Pakistani trade delegations should visit India.There is no option but to do it step by step,” he said.
The road to normalisation of ties between the two countries llay through greater trade and business.
The road map in this regard was prepared by the two governments in 2012 could be unveiled soon. The total trade between the two countries was worth just $2.5 billion a year, whereas its potential was of $20 billion, he pointed out. “There is a great potential that needs to be tapped.”
