Shah Mehmood Qureshi underscores need of dialogues between Pakistan, India

ISLAMABAD: Underscoring the need of negotiation between the two nuclear powered neighbors, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said that dialogue is the only option to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan.

Addressing the senate session, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that both the nuclear powered neighbors cannot afford the consequences of any accidental war.

He said that New Delhi repeatedly suspended dialogue with Pakistan and added that Indian leaders preferred politics over peace. The foreign minister said that India also staged a drama of surgical strike to mislead their people.

Referring to the cancelled meeting between foreign ministers of both counties on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York earlier this year, the foreign minister said that Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had initially agreed on the meeting but later backtracked on the direction of his premier.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “Our response was very measured and mature in which we said Pakistan is willing to engage when they are ready as engagement is the only solution to our bilateral outstanding issues.”