Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar pressured that bettering relations with India requires a two-way effort. He emphasised that Pakistan has been actively partaking in diplomatic efforts for the reason that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) authorities took workplace final yr.
When requested about Pakistan’s relations with India, he pressured the significance of mutual effort, and stated, “Afghanistan is our brother. We need sturdy ties. With India, it takes two to tango. If there’s goodwill, we’re prepared for commerce.”
India took a jibe at Pakistan’s remark. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “The related ‘T’ phrase right here is terrorism, not tango”, throughout his weekly briefing.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Pakistan Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s assertion relating to ties with India ‘it takes two to tango’, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, ” The related ‘T’ phrase there’s ‘terrorism’ and never ‘tango’…” pic.twitter.com/2hrTW75ScR
— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2025
India has reiterated again and again that “terror and talks” can not go collectively, and urged Pakistan to cease cross border terrorism.
The relationship between the 2 international locations got here to a halt after the 2019 Pulwama Attack. Pakistan additionally downgraded the diplomatic ties with India after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dar additionally introduced plans to go to Bangladesh subsequent month, aiming to strengthen financial and commerce cooperation. He described Bangladesh as “like a misplaced brother” and famous that Islamabad and Dhaka are rebuilding ties after the autumn of the Hasina authorities final yr, on August 5, after a student-led protest.
Dar additionally rejected claims of the nation’s isolation as he stated, “When we assumed workplace, there was a notion of diplomatic isolation. However, by increasing our diplomatic attain and interesting with regional neighbours, this notion has modified.”
Additionally, Dar addressed Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, expressing a want to strengthen ties regardless of the problem of terrorism. He criticised former intelligence chief Gen Faiz Hameed for partaking in talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and revealed that deliberate visits to Kabul have been postponed on account of terrorist assaults.
Moreover, Pakistan has been dealing with an increase in terrorism since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban got here to energy, they usually have demanded that Afghanistan ought to management the terrorists who’re working on their soil in opposition to Pakistan.
In different developments, Dar highlighted progress in Pakistan’s nuclear vitality sector, asserting the launch of the Chashma 5 (C-5) nuclear energy venture. He additionally confirmed the appointment of former Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood as Secretary General of the D-8 Developing Eight Forum.