NEW DELHI: India said on Thursday that there had to be a conducive environment and an atmosphere free of terror for talks to resume with Pakistan.

According to Press Trust of India, the remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar came in response to a question regarding reports from Pakistan on the possibility of resumption of stalled Indo-Pak talks.

“Our stand remains the same. We have always maintained that for the talks to go ahead there should be a conducive environment and atmosphere. And that environment has to be created which is free of terrorism and free of terrorists getting support from Pakistan,” he asserted.

India and Pakistan had announced resumption of talks under the comprehensive bilateral dialogue format during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad in Dec­ember 2015. However, PTI said, the dialogue hit a roadblock after the Pathankot terror strike by a Pakistan-based terror outfit in 2016.

On a question about Saarc, Mr Kumar said it was “one country” that needed to create conditions where such talks would have meaning and would be successful.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2017