Dialogue between India-Pak indispensible, says Pak Envoy

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], Jan 24 (ANI): The Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Sohail Mahmood on Thursday said that the important thing for India and Pakistan is a common "desire for peace" and that there is no issue that can be solved without talking to each other.
Speaking to ANI, Mahmood said, "The important thing is this desire for peace and a relation that is cooperative and good neighbourly. Indeed, this has been a complex and complicated relationship, with its own share of ups and downs. We have seen periods of greater engagement, when the two sides were able to work together to address the challenges, I think a similar approach is needed, where we are in a process of sustained engagement and there is communication on multiple levels".
He further said that "dialogue is indispensible" and that there is no issue that can be resolved without talking to each other.
"There is no challenge that can be addressed without making a collective endeavour to address that. So I think it is an important and indispensible requirement, to be engaged, to be talking to each other and that will yield the kind of better understanding which is required for moving forward," the High Commissioner said.
Mahmood said that the two countries have to move away from the "blame game," as suggested by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"We have to see that if we are determined, only then we can begin to find a solution. Important thing is to be engaged. If there is a resolve and there is a continous process, then probably the relation can be protected," Mahmood said.
The Imran Khan-led Pakistan government has been indicating towards the resumption of bilateral dialogue with India, with New Delhi clarifying that a conducive atmosphere free from terrorism is needed for the same.
In September last year, India cancelled the proposed meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York, after two Special Police Officers and one policeman in Jammu and Kashmir were kidnapped and brutally killed by the terrorists.
In October, Khan said that he would resume peace talks with India after the 2019 general elections. (ANI)