Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Saturday said it would not be fair to expect instant resolution of all issues during the initial phase of comprehensive dialogue between the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India.
In an earlier announcement, Aziz had said that the meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries has been scheduled for the mid of next month.
Aziz said that, “Initially the focus (of talks) would be on the reduction of tension and maintenance of calm on the Line of Control to provide relief to the people living across the LoC.”
He said as the dialogue proceeds, all issues would be discussed.
The comprehensive dialogue between Pakistan and India will eventually focus all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir, he maintained.
The foreign affairs adviser said “in the recent meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries in Lahore it was decided that foreign secretaries would meet in the midst of next month to decide details of dialogue on all issues”.
Promotion of good neighbourly relations with all neighbours is the policy of the incumbent government, said Aziz, adding “as this is a pre-requisite to benefit from projects aimed at increasing regional connectivity and resolution of energy crisis”.
He said major political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had the consensus on peace and enhanced people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
In a breakthrough, Pakistan and India earlier this month agreed to reinitiate a comprehensive dialogue process during Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad for the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference.
