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‘India does not need third-party mediation for Pakistan ties’

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said it did not desire the help of a third country to improve its ties with Pakistan.

“The government of India is committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through a peaceful bilateral dialogue in accordance with the Simla agreement,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told reporters. “A third country’s role cannot be envisaged nor is it necessary.”

New Delhi’s statement follows a joint communiqué issued by US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, which said the two countries were committed to support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan. New Delhi also stressed that meaningful dialogue with Islamabad was not possible without addressing the threat of cross-border terrorism.

“We also believe that a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan can take place only in an environment free from terror or the threat of terror,” the spokesperson said.

The US and China “support the efforts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight terrorism, maintain domestic stability and achieve sustainable economic and social development, and support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan,” the joint statement had said.

The statement, coming barely days before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh goes to Washington as Obama’s state guest, has irked New Delhi.

US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer defended the move, calling it “a positive statement”.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the Beijing statement “another failure of Indian diplomacy”.

BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar asked the government to strongly contest the impression that China would have a role in solving Indo-Pakistan issues.

“We believe that the Indo-Pakistan issue was bilateral and the two countries should resolve it between themselves and there is no scope for a third country, be it the US or China,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Foreign Office welcomed the joint US-China reiteration to promote peace, stability and security in South Asia.

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