Summary It was India's unilateral decision to suspend Foreign Secretary level dialogue, he said.
KATHMANDU (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the problems between India and Pakistan are an obstacle in the success of South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC), Dunya News reported.
Prime Minister received a warm and thematic welcome from Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister upon arrival in Kathmandu to participate in the eighteenth SAARC conference.
Talking exclusively to Dunya News, Nawaz Sharif said that SAARC can be made effective along the lines of the European Union (EU) but, he said, problems between India and Pakistan are a major obstacle to the success of regional union.
He said Pakistan wants to eliminate the obstacles, adding that it was India that suspended Foreign Secretary level talks unilaterally.
He said the ball of resuming dialogue is in India’s court, adding that India should now be asked about removal of obstacles.
Prime Minister said that Pakistan wants dialogue on basis of mutual respect. Prime Minister’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi and Advisor on National Affairs Irfan Siddiqui are also accompanying the prime minister on the trip.
Irfan Siddiqui said that a meeting between Nawaz Sharif and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ‘possible’.
