Washington: Pakistan today said it is committed to normalising ties with India but contended that its concerns were not being taken up by the US administration with the “same intensity” as India's concerns.
“There's a strong perception in Pakistan that while a lot of pressure is exerted on Pakistan on issues of concern to India, our legitimate concerns are not conveyed to India with the same intensity,” said Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the premier on National Security and Foreign Affairs.
He reiterated the Pakistan government's commitment to normalise relations with India and said the settlement of the Kashmir issue would help achieve this objective.
“The overwhelming majority of the people in Pakistan support the normalisation of our relations with India and believe that the resolution of the Kashmir dispute would result in achieving this goal,” Aziz said in his opening statement as the US and Pakistan held a ministerial-level Strategic Dialogue here after a gap of three years.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's “bold vision of normalising relations with India is being pursued with full commitment”, he said.
Aziz is leading a high-power delegation to the US for the dialogue.
