New Delhi: Following Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office clarifying his interview in which he talked of dialogue with India in the context of Jammu and Kashmir, experts have said that while Pakistan continued with its Kashmir rant, it was "using terrorism" as an instrument of foreign policy against India.
Former ambassador and foreign policy expert Anil Trigunayat told ETV Bharat that Pakistan "does not know what it wants". "There is a recognition in Pakistan about where India has reached or is heading in the global discourse. Their leaders and media are talking volumes about it. On the other hand, Islamabad and Rawalpindi continue to be beset by the security and zero-sum mindset. They are hanging on the tails of Kashmiri rant while using terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy against India," he said. "India has time and again maintained that terror and talk can't go hand in hand...India is not going to revoke Art 370 or compromise on J&K .They are welcome to suffer from the Kaikeyi syndrome," the former ambassador said.
Also read: "Have learnt our lesson": Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif's message to India; his office clarifies
Pakistan PMO in reference to PM Sharif's interview with Al Arabiya, Tuesday said the PM had consistently maintained that Pakistan and India must resolve their bilateral issues, especially the core issue of Jammu & Kashmir, through dialogue and peaceful means. In a statement, the spokesperson of Pak's PM office said, "...the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated on record that talks can only take place after India has reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019. Without India's revocation of this step, negotiations are not possible".
"The settlement of the Kashmir dispute must be in accordance with UN resolutions & aspirations of people of Jammu & Kashmir", the spokesperson said adding, the (Pakistan) Prime Minister made this position very clear in his interview with Al Arabiya news during his recent visit to the UAE. The clarification came a day after Sharif, in an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, said that Pakistan had learned its lesson after three wars with India and emphasized that now it wants peace with its neigbour.
