Pakistan on Thursday said it would not accept any pre-conditions for resuming dialogue with India and said New Delhi would have to show some flexibility and readiness to discuss all issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, to move forward.
This was stated by Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit in response to questions relating to Pakistan and Kashmir references in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day address. Dr. Singh had said no progress could be made in India-Pakistan dialogue unless Pakistan stopped allowing its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.
Responding to this, Mr. Basit said: “We do not agree to any pre-conditions for resuming the dialogue process.” Pakistan wanted result-oriented dialogue, he said. Though all issues were discussed at the July 15 Foreign Minister-level meeting, the two sides could not map future engagement. “If India shows its readiness to discuss all issues, as was decided by the two Prime Ministers at Thimphu, Pakistan is ready to be positive and constructive.”
On Dr. Singh's statement that India was ready to discuss all issues with Kashmiri groups within the framework of the Constitution, Mr. Basit said: “It is high time India read the writing on the wall. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have resolved to get their right to self-determination no matter how brutally Indian security forces try to suppress their legitimate struggle.”
Support to Kashmiris
Adding that nothing could stop people from achieving their goal when they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for their cause, the spokesman reiterated Pakistan's diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle.
