India Pakistan Relations: India did not participate in Pakistan’s National Day celebrations held at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi for the second consecutive year. The government cited support for support to cross -border terrorism from Islamabad as the main reason for this decision and called it the biggest obstacle for regional peace.
India also strongly criticized Pakistan’s decision to honor Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Indian officials consider Naik as wanted in cases related to terrorism. The dispute increased further when Saad Ahmed Varaich, in-charge of the Pakistani High Commission, hoped for ‘new morning’ in Indo-Pak relations. He said that this is possible only when both countries increase mutual understanding and solve other long-term disputes including Jammu and Kashmir.
Was India invited to this program?
No official representative from India was present in this program. However, it was not clear whether Pakistan had invited Indian officials or not. When Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal was asked about this, he said that he has no information in this regard. He also said that the acceptance of such invitations depends on the status of the relationship between the two countries.
Spokesperson Jaiswal accused Pakistan of spreading lies
Spokesperson Jaiswal, in his statement, accused Pakistan of spreading lies and said that it should vacate the Eligel occupied areas of India. He clearly stated that India always wants to have a normal relationship with neighboring countries, but for this, Pakistan will have to create an atmosphere free from terrorism and enmity.
Prime Minister Modi’s strong comment on Pakistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said in a podcast that every attempt for peace with Pakistan has been replied as enmity and betrayal. He hoped that the leadership of Islamabad would get goodwill to improve bilateral relations.
India’s response to honoring Zakir Naik
The Government of India reacted strongly to Zakir Naik’s meeting with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Lahore. Jaiswal said that this is not the first time Pakistan has supported Naik. He said that this incident shows which side of the Government of Pakistan is inclined and what it indicates for India.
Pakistan wants a peaceful relationship with India
Pakistani diplomat Varaich said in the event that Islamabad always tries to belong to other countries based on sovereign equality, mutual respect and the principles of peaceful co-existence. He said that establishing peaceful relations with India is Pakistan’s priority and diplomatic efforts should be made for this.
Tension increased in relations since Pulwama attack
Tension in relations between India and Pakistan increased after the Pulwama terror attack when India launched an air attack on terrorist bases in Balakot. After this, the relations deteriorated after India ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019.
No bilateral talks have been held for eight years
There has been no formal bilateral talks between India and Pakistan for the last eight years, but both countries have been talking on multilateral forums. Given the recent developments, it is difficult to say when the process of talks between the two countries will start again.
