External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a visit to Pakistan these days to attend the Shanghai Commission Organization (SCO) summit. Meanwhile, former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has advocated bilateral talks with India. India has ruled out any such possibility during the ongoing SCO summit in Islamabad. In an interview to ARY News, the Chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has urged both the countries to hold talks during the SCO meeting.
He asked, “Why be so harsh? Both the countries should think of holding bilateral talks during the summit. Be it today or tomorrow, both the countries will have to resume bilateral talks soon.” Let us tell you that India has clearly refused any kind of talks without solving the problem of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan.
On Tuesday, former interim Prime Minister of Pakistan Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar said that there is a deep desire in Pakistan to see improvement in its relations with India. Kakar said Pakistan's military, political parties and many other sections of the country want forward momentum in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. However, it is also important to realize its ground reality. Responding to a question asked by the Indian media, he said, “I do not think there is any hope of any success in bilateral relations.”
He was asked that if Pakistan wanted to improve bilateral relations then why did it not propose a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries. In response to this, Kakar said that if any such step is taken then he is apprehensive of facing criticism from the opposition parties of Pakistan. He said that in the current political environment, if anyone retreats even an inch, they may have to suffer the consequences. Kakar strongly advocated the improvement of relations between Pakistan and India, saying that both sides should find ways for this.
Let us tell you that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit on Wednesday.
India-Pakistan relations
Relations between India and Pakistan came under severe strain when Indian fighter jets attacked the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, in response to the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019. Relations deteriorated further after India announced on 5 August 2019 that it would withdraw the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories.
