Indian High Commissioner calls on Adviser

(2013-09-03)

The Indian High Commissioner, H.E. Dr. T.C.A Raghavan paid a courtesy call on Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security & Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sartaj Aziz this morning. This was the High Commissioner’s first call on the Adviser since his arrival in Islamabad.

During the call, the Adviser stressed the importance of resuming the bilateral dialogue process. Reiterating Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s commitment for normalizing relations with India, the Adviser stated that there had been great hope within the present government of picking up the threads from the Lahore Declaration of 1999 and embark upon a new phase of Pakistan-India relations. The tension along the LoC seemed to have derailed this process which was unfortunate. He believed that the Indian media’s over-reaction to the LoC incident had also not helped. He felt that both sides had to show maturity and move forward in a positive manner to resolve outstanding issues and put in a place a sustainable dialogue process.

High Commissioner Raghavan also viewed the LoC incident as a “setback” in the dialogue process. Adding that while there was a feeling in India, also to continue to engage with Pakistan, incidents such as the recent one on the LoC raised doubts on Pakistan’s sincerity. He felt that both countries needed to work towards forging a common policy on combating terrorism that would help in allaying many misperceptions that existed. He believed the upcoming visit of the Joint Commission on the Mumbai trials, to India would be helpful towards this end.

Islamabad

03 September 2013

232/2013