Pak blames India for July talks deadlock

He was responding to a question on Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao8217;s remarks that the parleys in July had run aground due to Pakistans 8220;overreach8221;.

8220;I think it was not Pakistans overreach but India8217;s attempt to underplay Jammu and Kashmir and other important and unavoidable issues that caused an impasse in the July meeting,8221; Basit said.

8220;Sixty three years have elapsed and our two countries have still not been able to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,without which we cannot realistically expect peace and prosperity in South Asia,8221; he said.

Basit contended that the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir,where over 100 people have died since June,8221;warrants nothing less than a sustained and resulted-oriented dialogue in order to bring the long agony of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to an end8221;.

8220;We call on the international community to help and use their influence with India to settle this longstanding dispute,8221; he added.

Replying to an another question on External Affairs Minister S M Krishna8217;s reported remarks that India and Pakistan were to sign an agreement during his visit to Islamabad in July,Basit said Indian leader was 8220;referring to a document which our two sides were negotiating,which would have contained a roadmap for future engagement8221;.

He claimed India was not ready to give Pakistan a definite timeline for talks on Jammu and Kashmir,peace and security and Siachen during the meeting in July.

8220;Obviously,it would not have been possible for us to agree to a document which did not contain a clear timeframe on these issues,8221; he said.

Referring to the third round of the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue that began in Washington yesterday,he said four working groups on agriculture,communications and public diplomacy,water and defence met yesterday and considered ways to promote bilateral cooperation.

Meetings of the working group on energy,health,law enforcement and counterterrorism,economy and finance,and women8217;s empowerment are scheduled for today while the two sides will have in-depth discussions on the post-flood situation tomorrow.

US President Barack Obama met the Pakistani delegation led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yesterday and said he was looking forward to visiting Pakistan sometime next year.

Replying to a question on Foreign Minister Qureshi8217;s comments that Iran has no justification for nuclear technology,Basit said the remarks did not reflect a change in Pakistan8217;s policy relating to Iran.

8220;The Foreign Minister was responding to a question. What he was saying was that Iran had itself clearly articulated its position against acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran is a brotherly neighbour of Pakistan with which we have very strong ties,8221; he said.

8220;We believe that the issues surrounding Iran8217;s nuclear programme should be resolved through dialogue and that states party to the NPT should comply with all its provisions,8221; he said.

Asked about the possibility of Pakistan launching a military operation in North Waziristan,he said: 8220;What Pakistan will do will be in the interest of Pakistan. There are already 34,000 Pakistani troops in North Waziristan8221;.

8220;To say that Pakistan is totally oblivious to the situation there is not correct. We are doing whatever is required to be done,8221; the foreign ministry official said.

He underlined that Pakistan will not hesitate to undertake a full-scale operation,if so required,8221;but its time and scope will be decided by us and by us alone in consonance with our national interests8221;.