ISLAMABAD: The Indian foreign ministry has said it is ready to normalize relations with Pakistan given a “conducive atmosphere free of terror, hostility, or violence,” India’s Asian News International (ANI) news agency reported on Thursday.
The foreign ministry’s statement comes in response to remarks by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that he was open to talks with India on all outstanding issues, including disputed Kashmir, if India restored the autonomous status of the part of Kashmir it rules that was revoked in August 2019.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir in full but rule it in part and have fought three wars since they gained independence from British rule in 1947.
Relations have always remained tense but hit a new low in 2019 after New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special status, taking away the territory’s autonomy and dividing it into three federally administered territories. Pakistan as a result suspended diplomatic and trade ties with India.
“We have already said that we have always wanted normal neighborly relations with Pakistan. But there should be a conducive atmosphere which does not have terror, hostility, or violence. That remains our position,” Indian news agency ANI quoted the spokesman of India’s ministry of external affairs, Arindam Bagchi, as saying.
On Thursday, the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan was open to “cooperative relations” with India if it reversed the actions of August 2019.
“We have consistently advocated constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters.
“However, India’s unabated hostility and retrogressive actions have vitiated the environment and impeded the prospects for peace and cooperation. We believe the onus remains on India to take the necessary steps to create an enabling environment conducive [to] meaningful and result-oriented dialogue.”
