India said Thursday that it wants normal neighborly relations with Pakistan, but Islamabad must create an environment free from terror and hostility in order to facilitate such engagement.
V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Relations, stated this in Rajya Sabha when he was asked about media reports that Imran Khan, the advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, had backed the resumption bilateral trade ties.
Muraleedharan stated that India has maintained a consistent position of wanting normal neighbourly relations to Pakistan. He also said that India is committed to addressing any issues bilaterally and peacefully in an environment free from terror, hostility, and violence.
“It is Pakistan’s responsibility to create such a conducive climate,” he said.
After India’s warplanes attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training facility in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attacks, tensions began to build between Pakistan and India.
The relationship deteriorated further when India announced in August 2019 that it was withdrawing Jammu & Kashmir’s special powers and that it would be bifurcating the state into two territories.
“In August 2019, Pakistan announced that it had suspended bilateral trade with India. Muraleedharan stated that Pakistan partially lifted its ban on trade from India in September 2019, by allowing trade in certain pharmaceutical products.
To a separate question Meenakshi, Minister of state for External Affairs, said that the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Tourism promotes Indian culture worldwide through its cultural centers and missions abroad.
She stated that the government received a proposal to organize events in selected countries with the theme “Spirit of Gujarat”
“The idea is to connect the diaspora in Gujarat to show the cultural and historical perspective for Gujarat. She said that a week-long program would begin with a short film about Azadi Ka Amarit Mahotsav, and the role of Gujaratis living overseas in the preservation and development of culture.
(Only headline and photo of this report might have been reworked slightly by Business Standard staff; the rest is auto-generated from syndicated feeds.
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