File photo of P.M. Shehbaz Sharif, courtesy PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday urged his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to engage in serious and sincere talks to resolve all pending issues between the neighboring states, stressing that both sides want to live in peace.
“My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir,” he told the Al Arabiya news channel. Stressing that Pakistan and India were neighbors who had no choice but to live with each other, he said they could choose to do so in peace or through quarrels that waste time and resources.
“We have had three wars with India and it only brought more misery, poverty and unemployment to the people,” he regretted. “We have learnt our lesson and we want to live in peace, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems. We want to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity, and provide education and health facilities and employment to our people and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition, that is the message I want to give to P.M. Modi,” he added. The leadership of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), said Sharif, could play an important role in bringing Pakistan and India together.
Referring to the longstanding impasse over Kashmir, the prime minister lamented daily reports of flagrant human rights violations at the hands of Indian security forces. He said Delhi had usurped any semblance of autonomy accorded to Kashmiris by unilaterally revoking Article 370 of its Constitution in August 2019, triggering further unrest. He also pointed to persecution of minorities in India, saying this needed to stop so the world could see it was ready for meaningful talks. “We are nuclear powers, armed to the teeth, and if God forbid a war breaks out who will live to tell what happened?” he questioned.
Describing Saudi Arabia as a “friendly and brotherly” country, he said these ties spanned centuries. Even before Pakistan came into being, he said, millions of Muslims had brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and would often visit Makkah and Medina.
Noting that the U.A.E. was a “second home” for millions of Pakistanis, he described his official visit to the country as “successful,” while stressing that President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was a great supporter of Pakistan and wanted its people to progress and become prosperous. “The leadership of Pakistan and Gulf countries have resolved to cooperate with each other in the realm of trade and culture and project Islam as a religion of peace and shun all forms of terrorism. We are working together as strategic partners,” he added.