Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan never wanted any escalation in regional affairs and has always desired peace.
The foreign minister appeared on a show with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and asserted that Pakistan is willing to move further through dialogue and without any aggressive strategies.
Asserting that India “attacked Pakistan” when it decided to violate its airspace, Qureshi remarked that the conflict between the two countries has turned quite serious and emphasized that Pakistan never wanted to escalate the issue.
He commented that India also violated the UN charter and international humanitarian laws when it breached the Line of Control (LoC).
“This was serious. The Indian air force is fully mobilised, Pakistan air force is fully mobilised. How dangerous can it be?” he questioned.
The foreign minister lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to free the captured Indian pilot Abhinandan “as a peace gesture”. He asserted that the act of goodwill is proof of Pakistan’s willingness to de-escalate tensions.
He added that Pakistan was willing to hand him over soon, on Friday perhaps. Responding to a question of an “all-out war between the two countries”, Qureshi asserted that he hoped things would not go so far as it would be nothing less than a “mutual suicide”.
He added that Pakistan never wants to escalate or be in a hostile position. Since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came into power, he added, PM Imran has offered India if they take one step forward, Pakistan will take two.
He added that when he came to know of the tragic Pulwama attack, the first thing he did was to condemn it. He commented that the premier made a very reasonable offer when he asked India to share any actionable evidence indicting Pakistan.
Asserting that the PTI government is working towards peace and economic stability, Qureshi stressed that they want to fix the economy and nip corruption from the bud.
Speaking of regional stability, Qureshi asserted that Pakistan wants peace in the region and wants to see a resolution of the Afghan conflict.
Both US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the US Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, have acknowledged Islamabad’s constructive role in regional and Afghan peace process, Qureshi added.
Earlier, speaking on a private media outlet, Qureshi clicked his tongue that India seems to have kept quiet on Pakistan’s peace gesture to free the captured IAF pilot.
Pakistan, with its goodwill gesture, has conveyed a positive message to those in India who are sensible, he said, and remarked that he believed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was probably “hesitant and concerned that he would impact his position further should he try contacting Pakistan”.
