'Absolutely ready' for meaningful dialogue with India: Pakistani premier

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday made a “meaningful” dialogue offer to long-time rival India and said he is "absolutely ready" to move on for peace, and prosperity in the region.

Addressing the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Kazakhstan, Shehbaz Sharif said he is willing to engage with India for the sake of peace, prosperity, and progress in the region.

“I am absolutely ready and willing to have serious dialogue and discussion with our counterparts,” Sharif said in his speech aired on state-run Pakistan Television.

However, he said that the onus remains on India to take the necessary steps for “meaningful and result-oriented engagement.”

The Pakistani premier added that they cannot afford to have more poverty, and unemployment on both sides of the border and spend resources on creating tension.

“Enough is enough, we need to really provide education, health and medicine, and jobs to our children,” he said.

Sharif also highlighted the ongoing human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir and urged the leaders to recognize the brutal nature of the Indian government policies in the disputed region of Kashmir.

“For seven decades, India has trampled the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by denying them the right to self-determination. India has used repression to silence the voice of Kashmiris,” he said.

The already fraught relations between Pakistan and India further soured in August 2019 when New Delhi stripped the disputed Jammu and Kashmir valley of its longstanding semiautonomous status.

The controversial move instantly prompted Islamabad to downgrade diplomatic ties and halt trade with New Delhi.

- Floods cause over $30B loss

Talking about the recent flood devastation in his country, Sharif said the calamity has caused a loss of $30 billion and he needed support from the international community.

“Pakistan needs immediate help as over 33 million people are currently displaced and over 2 million houses damaged by the flood,” he told the participants.

He also thanked the UN and all other countries that helped his nation in this difficult time.

So far, 1,717 people have lost their lives, including 639 children, while 12,867 others have been wounded.

- Peace in Afghanistan

Sharif also urged the world to help the people of Afghanistan to bring lasting peace to their country as Pakistan is the country that suffered the most from the Afghan conflict.

“Pakistan has borne the most serious consequences of the conflict in Afghanistan. We have suffered over 80,000 casualties and economic losses of over $150 billion in the fight against terrorism.

“We continue to host about 4 million Afghan refugees on our soil. A peaceful, stable, united, and prosperous Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan and the whole region,” he added.