ISLAMABAD: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's office Tuesday amended his seemingly unconditional offer of serious and sincere talks with counterpart Narendra Modi to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir, saying a dialogue with India would be possible only if the latter reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019 on J-K.
The condition of rolling back the decision to revoke the erstwhile state of J-Ks special status popped up a day after Sharif was quoted as saying in an interview to news channel Al Arabiya that his message to the Indian leadership and PM Modi was to let us sit across the table for talks.
Sharif said the UAE could play an important role in bringing the two countries to the table, adding he would hold talks with sincerity of purpose.
The Pakistan PM said his country and India being neighbours, there was no choice but to live with each other.Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif wants honest talks with PM ModiPak PMO: No talks unless India revokes'Art 370 move'Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, in an interview to news channel Al Arabiya, said India and Pakistan being neighbours had no choice but to live with each other.
"It is up to us to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other, and waste time and resources.
We have had three wars with India and it only brought more misery, poverty and unemployment to the people.
We have learned our lesson and we want to live in peace, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems," he said.Sharif said that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) government wanted "to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity, provide education, health facilities and employment to our people, and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition"."This is the message I want to give to PM Modi," he said.'Shameful for a nuclear power to beg', says Pak PM SharifSharif said it was no secret that the neighbours were nuclear powers and armed to the teeth.
"God forbid, a war breaks out, who will live to tell what happened?"Referring to the interview, a spokesperson for the PM's office said Sharif had consistently maintained that Pakistan and India must resolve their bilateral issues through dialogue.
"However, the PM has repeatedly stated on record that without India's revocation of its step on Kashmir, negotiations are not possible," he tweeted.Home minister Rana Sanaullah weighed in soon after, saying the main prerequisite for negotiations with India was "the revocation of its illegal step on August 5, 2019, which stripped the Valley of its legitimate status".