ISLAMABAD, 2 September 2003 — Pakistan yesterday called upon India to initiate unconditional dialogue, complaining that a new war of words between the rival nuclear neighbors has stalled the six-month old peace process.
“As for the hand of friendship, I do not think that it has been withdrawn but it is suspended somewhere,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said at a weekly briefing.
“You don’t extend a hand of friendship and say look here is my hand and I will shake it with you if you do this and that,” Khan said. “This and that can be done when you talk to each other.”
The South Asian rivals launched the normalization process after Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on April 18 offered friendship to Pakistan following 18 months of tense relations between the neighbors.
The two countries have since re-established full diplomatic relations and restored bus services, but talks on resolving political issues, including the key dispute of Kashmir, have not started after a lapse of six months.
“I have never seen that a hand of friendship is extended and withdrawn so quickly,” Khan said.
Khan insisted that Pakistan wanted the two countries to initiate meaningful dialogue.
“We want to invest our time and energy in this process with all sincerity for a meaningful engagement for a result-oriented dialogue,” he said.
“Our message to the Indians is that speak don’t stall; engage, don’t blame and don’t start this war of words. Let’s come to the negotiating table.”
Khan also slammed suggestions by Indian leaders that Pakistan was behind the twin car bombings in Bombay a week ago that claimed 65 lives.
“It is really surprising that Mr. Vajpayee and other leaders in India seem to be speaking in different voices and working at cross purposes,” Khan said, referring to Indian Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s pointing the finger of accusation at Pakistan.
“The Indian deputy prime minister had “absolutely no evidence” when he blamed Pakistan, the spokesman said.
He rejected Vajpayee’s recent statement linking talks with Pakistan to normalcy in the violence-plagued Indian zone of Kashmir.
“We think that violence in Indian-held Kashmir has been initiated by India,” he said.
“When Mr. Vajpayee would order his soldiers to stop firing at innocent civilians the situation will start improving,” he added.
Khan called Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha’s reported description of Pakistan as “epicenter of terrorism”, following the weekend grenade attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Jalalabad, “ridiculous”.
Pakistan symbolized a fighter against terrorism and India, because of its military repression in disputed Kashmir, state terrorism, he said.
“We have responded to the farfetched and baseless allegations with patience, restraint and dignity,” he said.
Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both, has caused two of three wars since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947.
