ISLAMABAD, February 16: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi has said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s policies based upon fostering good ties with India were well known and hoped that very soon a meeting at the foreign sectaries’ level would take place, paving way for the beginning of formal dialogue.
“There is nothing hidden about it. He (Prime Minister) publicly says he wants good relations with India and this has been his belief for many years,” he said in an interview with the Global Times (GT), Beijing during his recent three-day visit to China.
Responding to a question, Fatemi said that whenever Prime Minister Sharif came into power, he reached out to the Indian leadership and tried to initiate a dialogue process.
“The important thing is that if there is even the slightest hint of an interest in cooperative relations coming out of India, we are ready to respond,” the daily quoted the SAPM on Foreign Affairs.
“Neither country can afford a relationship of tension and hostility,” he added.
To a query regarding peace process in Afghanistan, he said both Pakistan and China as neighbours of Afghanistan were all interested in peace and stability of the entire region.
China had always been a powerful factor in promoting peace and stability in the region, Fatemi added.
He stressed that they had to sit down and determined how the peace ad reconciliation process in Afghanistan could be further promoted after US and NATO forces drawdawn.-APP
