KARACHI: High Commis­sioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit on Friday underlined the need “to break the impasse between Pakistan and India” but said Islam­abad was not desperate for early resumption of dialogue.

During an interview with The Hindu, he said: “Pakistan is not begging for dialogue. If India is not ready, we can always wait.”

Mr Basit said a dialogue between the two neighbours “was inevitable. Whether it happens one year down the road or three years down the road”.

The interview took place just a few days before Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz is due to lead a delegation to the Heart of Asia conference, to be held in Amritsar.

Speaking about the possibility of talks between the two sides on the sidelines of the conference, the high commissioner said Islamabad “was open to any proposal for talks from the Indian side”. He added that the conference should focus on the situation in Afghanistan.

“Whether or not there are bilateral talks, our adviser is coming [to India] because Afghanistan is important for us; its stability and economy are important for us, so we will participate constructively,” Mr Basit said.

The spokesman for India’s external affairs ministry, Vikas Swarup, however, ruled out any talks with Pakistan on the sidelines of the upcoming conference.

“Talks cannot happen in a climate of continued terrorism,” he said. “India will never accept continued terrorism as the new normal of the bilateral relationship,” the Times of India quoted Mr Swarup as saying.

During the interview, Mr Basit was asked whether Pakistan was worried about being “cornered” by Afghan­istan and India at the conference because both of them held “Islamabad responsible for cross-border terrorist acts they face”.

The high commissioner respon­ded by saying that Pakistan had no such concerns as terrorism was an important issue for his country as well. “Why should we worry because terrorism is also an important issue for us.

“There is zero tolerance for terrorism in Pakistan,” he said. He pointed out that Pak­istan had taken action against banned militant groups such as Jaish-i-Moham­med and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

About the worsening situation along the Line of Control (LoC), Mr Basit said: “The 2003 ceasefire was an important confidence building mea­­­­s­ure,” which should re­­main intact. “We must prese­rve it and then consolidate it.”

He said that shelling along the LoC must be brought to an end and diplomacy should remain the primary means to reach solutions on the issue of Kashmir.

He described the relationship between Pakistan and India as “one step forward, two steps back and then discuss how to break the ice again”.

Mr Basit said there was a “feeling in Islamabad that that there is no desire for a comprehensive dialogue in Delhi” since the killing of Burhan Wani by Indian forces on July 8.

Mr Swarup referred to a telephonic conversation bet­ween Donald Trump and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and said India looked forward to the president-elect “address the most outstanding of its [Pakistan’s] issues”.

“We look forward to the president-elect helping Pakistan address the most outstanding of its outstanding issues — terrorism.”

Published in Dawn December 3rd, 2016