Despite Shiv Sena threat, Pak foreign minister Kasuri firm on book launch in Mumbai

The Shiv Sena has demanded cancellation of the Mumbai event, scheduled for October 12, and threatened to disrupt proceedings if it is held. The organisers have asked the government for police protection.

Delivering a talk on “Strengthening relationship between India and Pakistan” at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Kasuri said: “As per my experience no issue in this world can be resolved through wars.everything gets resolved on the table. There is no option of war now between the two countries. Both the countries have fast growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles. Only mad people can think about the war now.”

Kasuri said the media in both countries were not playing a good role. “Whenever cross-LoC firing happens, the media in both countries starts accusing each other of firing,” he said.

The former foreign minister also insisted that it was important for  Pakistan to talk to the Hurriyat leaders. “Those leaders (Hurriyat) whom you don’t accept, why are they important for us? We want to keep them informed on whatever framework we are making, take them into confidence so that if India and Pakistan reach some conclusion, they don’t reject it,” he said.

He said if the Hurriyat leadership was not part of a Kashmir solution, it would be seen as “sellout” by people in Pakistan.