Talks with India for sake of talks won't serve any purpose:Pak

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Mar 3 (PTI) Even as it insisted that dialogue
is the only way forward to resolve all issues with India,
Pakistan Wednesday said "engaging in talks for the sake of
talks would serve no purpose" and asked New Delhi to change
its "Cold War mindset".

"We raise our hopes and then disappoint ourselves,"
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Geo News
channel, referring to the February 25 talks between Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman
Bashir in New Delhi. However, he said, dialogue is the "only
way forward."
Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said
during a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr
Store here that Pakistan wanted its ties with India to
normalise "by resolving bilateral disputes through a sustained
and meaningful dialogue process."
However, "engaging in talks for the sake of talks would
serve no purpose," he was quoted as saying in a statement
issued by the Foreign Office.
Qureshi said "India had to change its approach vis-a-vis
Pakistan, which somehow continued to be anchored in the Cold
War mindset."
Referring to the recent Foreign Secretary-level Indo-Pak
talks, he said Pakistan had gone for the parleys "with an
open mind."
Gilani, while referring to his meeting with India's Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh in Sharm el-Sheikh in July last year
and an expected meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in
Bhutan, told the channel that "whenever we meet, it would be
meaningful."
Responding to a query about Singh's recent visit to Saudi
Arabia, the Pakistan Prime Minister described it as a good
development.
He said it would not have any impact on Pak-Saudi ties as
the two countries are members of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference and enjoy close and friendly relations.
Asked about military exercises recently conducted by
India at Pokhran, Gilani said Pakistan's defence is in secure
hands and the country is aware of its defence capabilities.
"We are not worried about such things," he said.
Replying to a question about the Indo-US agreement on
civil nuclear cooperation, he said, "We have told (the US)
that they have to do something for Pakistan too in order to
avoid regional instability."
Pakistan will not make any compromise on its defence and
nuclear policy and the country's sovereignty and integrity
will be upheld, Gilani said. PTI RHL
MRD