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Is Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif really sincere about the start of closed bilateral talks? This question is getting priority in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Ministry sources say that India is not ready to comment on the interview. India wants to understand whether Sharif is at all 'sincere' about the talks, and whether his interest is supported by 'others' (Army and ISI) in the country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has offered 'sincere discussions on all issues' with India, but India is not sure about the nature of that sincerity. Because, a statement issued by the Secretariat of the Prime Minister of Pakistan last Tuesday evening. The question of 'sincerity' has arisen around the 'explanation' given in the statement about Sharif's interview given to a Dubai-based television channel. India feels that the statement is actually Pakistan's 'condition' for talks, with which the 'tone' of Sharif's interview is clearly inconsistent.
A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in this context on Wednesday that the tone of Sharif's interview may seem sincere. They may seem very eager to open a closed discussion. Otherwise he would not have talked about 'learning from three wars'. He did not talk about 'war is a waste of time and resources'. He did not say, 'Pakistan now wants to live peacefully and solve old problems'. Sources say, Sharif brought up the issue of Kashmir in the interview. Article 370 talks about repeal. He also raised the issue of minority oppression in India. But he did not set them up as a condition for starting negotiations. However, the statement of the Secretariat of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Tuesday evening makes it clear that the Prime Minister's proposal for talks is completely conditional.
According to the statement issued by the spokesperson of the Secretariat of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, he has definitely offered to resolve all the old bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, through peaceful talks; But in that interview, he repeatedly said that talks are not possible if the decision taken on August 5, 2019 (bifurcation of the state and cancellation of Article 370) is not changed. The statement also said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved based on the will of the people there and the UN resolution.
One more thing is important. Shahbaz Sharif requested Emirati ruler Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to take initiative to bring the two countries to the negotiating table. According to India's traditional policy, the Kashmir issue is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. There is no room for third party mediation. Former US President Donald Trump also once expressed his willingness to mediate. India's attitude was still changing.
According to sources in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan must first decide what it wants. India has repeatedly said that there can be no peace talks keeping terrorism alive. Islamabad must first destroy all terrorist strongholds. The infrastructure must be destroyed. Cross-border terrorism must be stopped. All aid should be stopped. Then you should show sincerity to sit in the discussion. According to the source, it is also being seen whether Shahbaz Sharif's interview is related to Pakistan's inclusion of Abdur Rehman Makki in the UN Security Council's list of international terrorists.
After Sharif's interview was aired, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah said at an event in Delhi on Tuesday evening that he hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will work as a bridge between the two countries. India now chairs the G-20 group. This is the right time. He said that the Kashmir issue will not be resolved if the two neighbors do not talk to each other. Terrorism will not end either. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also thought so.
Bilateral talks between India and Pakistan have been suspended since 18 August 2014. Despite India's objections, the then Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, held a meeting with Kashmir's Hurriyat leaders. In protest, then Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh canceled his visit to Islamabad. Since then, formal negotiations between the two countries have stopped. India is unwilling to sit at the negotiating table unless cross-border terrorism and support to terrorists is completely stopped. India's official position is that negotiations cannot be held with a gun to one's forehead.
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