New Delhi – Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, reaffirmed his desire to speak with India on Tuesday, stating that until significant concerns are resolved via constructive and peaceful dialogue, the two nations cannot be “normal neighbours.”
A little more than six months before to Sharif’s offer of talks during his speech at the Pakistan Minerals Summit’s opening session in Islamabad, he had made a similar suggestion in an interview with the AlArabiya news channel. Since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, India and Pakistan have not had any meaningful discussions. New Delhi has tied any communications to Islamabad’s escalating anti-terror efforts.
Sharif didn’t mention any specific nations in his statements, but it was clear that he was making a reference to India. He asserted that neither nation could afford to go to war and that a “nuclear flashpoint” would leave no survivors.
“We have no animosity against anyone. We must take care of ourselves, create our country, and even work with our neighbour. War is no longer an option, thus we are willing to talk to our neighbours if they are willing to discuss important issues, according to Sharif.
He mentioned that it is crucial for both nations to resolve their “serious issues” through negotiations but he made no mention of any of these problems in particular.
But it’s also crucial that the neighbour realises that in order for us to have normal neighbourly relations, abnormalities must be erased and our severe difficulties must be acknowledged and resolved via respectful dialogue, according to Sharif.
Indian officials did not immediately respond to Sharif’s comments.
Gen. Asim Munir, the commander of the Pakistani Army, and several other international dignitaries attended the business gathering in Islamabad.
“Pakistan is a nuclear power, not as an aggressor but for our defence,” Sharif continued. And in the past 75 years, three wars have been fought. And what took place? With you, I’m being completely honest. It led to increased unemployment, poverty, and a lack of funding for public health, education, and welfare.
So, should we follow this strategy or engage in an economic arms race, he continued? Who will survive to relate what happened if there is a nuclear flashpoint, God forbid, God forbid? Therefore, that is not a choice.
Sharif stated in January that he had urged the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to assist in bringing the two nations to the negotiating table and had volunteered to hold discussions with India. Soon after, Islamabad demanded that New Delhi reinstate Jammu and Kashmir’s special status before it would engage in further negotiations. Sharif was in the UAE at the time.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad stated that talks “can only take place after India had reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019″—a reference to the abolition of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status—hours after Sharif made the offer during the interview with AlArabiya.
Bilateral ties have reached an all-time low as a result of the developments in Jammu and Kashmir and a spate of terrorist attacks attributed to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), including the 2019 Pulwama bombing that claimed the lives of 40 Indian soldiers and pushed the two countries dangerously near to war.
When Nawaz Sharif, the older brother of the Sharif family, served as prime minister from 2013 to 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a number of peace offers. Nawaz Sharif was invited by Modi to attend his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, and the two men unexpectedly met in Lahore in December 2015. However, relations between the two parties subsequently broke down.
Later this month, Sharif’s administration will be overthrown in order to host Pakistan’s national elections. It seems doubtful that either his government or the caretaker administration that will be established to oversee the election will be able to hold any meaningful discussions with India.
