'Lessons learnt from wars with India...' Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif seeks talks with PM Narendra Modi

The Pakistan Prime Minister said that the neighbours had to live with each other and whether they wanted to co-exist or quarrel against each other depended upon them.

Vipin Vijayan

First Published Jan 17, 2023, 12:55 PM IST | Last Updated Jan 17, 2023, 12:55 PM IST

Asserting that his country had learnt lessons from the three wars it waged against India, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought serious and sincere talks with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.

In an interview with a television news channel, Sharif sought the help of the United Arab Emirates in facilitating the talks between India and Pakistan over a gamut of "burning issues", including Kashmir.

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"My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit across the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve burning issues like Kashmir," Sharif told Al Arabia.

The Pakistan Prime Minister said that the neighbours had to live with each other and whether they wanted to co-exist or quarrel against each other depended on them.

He said Pakistan had three wars with India, and they had only brought more poverty, misery unemployment to the people.

'We have learnt our lesson. We want to live in peace, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems. We want to achieve prosperity, alleviate poverty and provide health and education facilities and jobs to our people rather than waste resources on weapons and ammunition. That is the message I want to give to Prime Minister Modi,' he said.

India is yet to react to the Pakistan Prime Minister's remarks. However, India's stated position has been that no talks with Pakistan can take place unless Islamabad takes concrete steps to eliminate terror and terrorists operating from its soil. India has maintained that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility to have normal neighbourly relations.

Earlier attempts by the Indian government to break the ice in relations with Pakistan were shattered by the Uri and Pulwama strikes. Relations between the two countries have been strained due to a series of terror attacks carried out by Pakistan-based terrorist outfits and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which gave special status to the now Union Territory.

Sharif's overtures are being seen with suspicion, considering his own foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, had resorted to a personal attack on Prime Minister Modi in December last year. The comments evoked a sharp response from New Delhi. Days later, to downplay the outrage, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said disputes with India need to be resolved through talks.

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