New Delhi: India today hit back at Pakistan for accusing it of “stalling dialogue to avoid negotiations on Kashmir”.
Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi has never ever shied away from holding talks with Islamabad and that on several occasions, India has taken initiative to start the comprehensive bilateral dialogue but Pakistan avoided discussions.
“India is prepared to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an atmosphere which is free from terror and violence,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here.
Swarup said that Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was scheduled to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart on resumption of bilateral dialogue in the January, but after the Pathankot Airbase attack that killed seven Indian security personnel, India is now waiting for Pakistan to complete their probe.
"After an incident like Pathankot, it is a natural and legitimate expectation of the government and people of India that there should be concrete action from the Pakistani side which has not denied the involvement of its nationals in the Pathankot attack. Therefore, as the minister (Sushma Swaraj) said we are awaiting a concrete investigation to take place at the Pakistani end," he said.
Swarup’s remark came in the wake of top Pakistani diplomat Sartaj Aziz’s comment that “India is shying away from talks as it knows that it has to discuss Kashmir and other issues”.
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When asked about Pakistan demanding ‘additional evidences’ to draw an early conclusion of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Swarup said that that “India hasn’t received any communication from Pakistan to fast-track the trial”.
“Pakistan foreign affairs spokesperson has claimed that their Foreign Secretary has written to our Foreign Secretary. But no fresh letter has been received in this regard. We keep hearing in media that so called list of 24 witnesses which are required by Pak to progress Mumbai terror attack case trial,” he said.
Swarup, however, said that there could be further communications between the two sides in the coming days, asserting that India was committed to providing all cooperation to Pakistan in expediting the trial and bringing all perpetrators to justice.
“We remain committed to providing cooperation to Pakistan in terms of expediting Mumbai terror case trial and bring all perpetrators to justice,” he added.
On the status of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former navy officer in Pakistan custody, Swarup said India has repeatedly sought consular access to him.
"Pakistan has a particular narrative regarding him. We believe the circumstances under which he was abducted in Iran remain very unclear. Those circumstances can be made clear once we have access to him. Pakistan by not giving access to him is in a way showing there is something to hide. So I think full clarity will come once we have accessibility to Jadhav," the spokesperson added.
On Brexit, Swarup said that the government is closely monitoring the developments and “we'll have to wait and see nature of relation that will evolve between UK & European Union”.
“We value our multi-faceted and strong relation with UK & EU & are committed to strengthening these ties further. It is still too early to understand the implications of Brexit on Indian businesses and students in the UK,” he added.
