Dec 30 , 2015
News
India changed ‘hostile attitude’ due to international pressure: Pakistan
* Sartaj tells Senate foreign secretaries of two countries will meet on Jan 14 or 15 in which a road map for talks on 10 identified points for next six months will be drawn up
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday told the Upper House that India had changed its hostile attitude towards Pakistan because of international pressure.
Briefing Senate on the surprise visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan on Dec 25, the advisor said that it was not a state visit but an informal and goodwill trip, and was aimed at further developing the existing relationship between the two countries.
He said as per decision of two prime ministers, the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet in middle of January 2016 to prepare schedule for the ‘comprehensive dialogue’. He said both the officials would draw up a map for the next six months for talks on 10 identified subjects.
Sartaj Aziz said the prime ministers of two countries have met five times and the warmth of relations created by the Lahore meeting would hopefully have an impact on the formal dialogue. He, however, cautioned against unrealistic expectations from the dialogue process and said early progress on some issues is likely while it would take time for the others.
The advisor said the visit of Indian prime minister was a goodwill visit and it has been welcomed by majority of people in Pakistan and India as well as the international community.
He dispelled the impression that the staff of the Indian prime minister visited Lahore without any visa. Some delegates accompanying the Indian PM stayed at the airport and hence there was no need to issue them visas. He said only the Indian PM and 11 of his personal staff members were given a 72-hour visa, and that the full immigration process was followed in this regard.
Responding to a point raised by leader of the opposition Aitzaz Ahsan, the adviser said no secret meeting was held between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India in Kathmandu. He said the government was not hiding facts from the public, adding that the upward trajectory in bilateral relations was result of an effective diplomacy of Pakistan.
To a question by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif’s recent visit to Afghanistan, Sartaj Aziz said he could not comment on it because the visit fell in the domain of the Ministry of Defence, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Defence Minister Khwaja Asif informed Senate that after taking input from his ministry, he would brief the House on the recent visit of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif to Kabul.
The Senate chairman asked the minister to brief the House by Thursday on the Kabul visit.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk