Onus of resolving Indo-Pak issues peacefully is on Pakistan: V Muraleedharan to Parliament

MoS MEA Muraleedharan said, “As per media reports, the Prime Minister of Pakistan remarked that his message to India is to have talks. Subsequently, the spokesman of Pakistan’s PMO reiterated Pakistan’s various pre-conditions to holding any talks with India."

New Delhi:The Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Friday told Parliament that issues between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. He was responding to the question raised by Loksabha MP Jai Prakash on whether Pakistan has shown any sign of rapprochement with India recently in the wake of its Prime Minister offering peace talks with India with the help of UAE.

MoS MEA Muraleedharan said, “As per media reports, the Prime Minister of Pakistan remarked that his message to India is to have talks. Subsequently, the spokesman of Pakistan’s PMO reiterated Pakistan’s various pre-conditions to holding any talks with India."

Highlighting that India desires normal neighborly relations with Pakistan, Murleedharan said, "India’s consistent position is that issues, if any, between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully. The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive environment by taking credible and verifiable actions to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross-border terrorism against India."

Last month, in a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reiterated that India has always wanted normal neighborly relations with Pakistan. Bagchi's comment came a few days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during an interview with a Dubai-based Television, said that the nation has learned its lesson after three wars with India and reiterated that now it wants peace with its neighbor.

Commenting on the visit by a Chinese naval vessel at the Hambantota Port in 2022, Muraleedharan told the Parliament that the Indian government is aware of reports of the said visit and is carefully monitoring developments.

His comment came in response to the questions raised by Loksabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi about whether India had conveyed its concern to Sri Lanka about docking of Yuan Wang-5 at the southern part of Hambantota from August 16 to 22, 2022, and if so, whether China is likely to use such a spy ship in Indian Ocean Region (IOR) for spying while India is testing its Missiles.

Responding to the same, MoS MEA Muraleedharan said, "Government is aware of reports of the visit by a Chinese naval vessel at the Hambantota Port in August 2022".

In response to other questions on the steps taken or being taken by the Government to safeguard its missiles from spying by Chinese Ships, MoS MEA replied, "Government carefully monitors any developments having a bearing on India’s security and economic interests, and takes all necessary measures to safeguard them."

Yuan Wang 5, China's space and satellite ship, is docked at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, which has become a major concern for India given the growing belligerence of China. According to sources, the surveillance vessel is being used by the Chinese military to track satellite, rocket, and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.