Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “disappointment” over the way Pakistan tried to make a “spectacle” of the Indian efforts to weed out pending issues between the two countries prior to the Foreign Secretary-level meeting in Islamabad. The meeting was cancelled after Pakistani High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit met Kashmiri separatists for consultations prior to the talks.
During an interaction with the Japanese media, the PM said India desires peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties with Pakistan and will continue to make efforts to build such ties with the neighbours.
But then he added that any meaningful bilateral dialogue necessarily requires an environment that is free from terrorism and violence.
“I had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in May 2014, when he attended the swearing-in ceremony of my Government. We together decided that the Foreign Secretaries should meet and explore how to take relations forward. India has no hesitation to discuss any outstanding issue with Pakistan within the bilateral framework that has been established under the Simla Agreement and the lahore Declaration. We, therefore, were disappointed that Pakistan sought to make a spectacle of these efforts and went ahead with talks with secessionist elements from Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi just prior to the meeting of the Foreign Secretaries,” the PM said.