Pakistan foreign minister acknowledges UAE mediating talks with India

New Delhi: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the first time has acknowledged that there have been “sittings” in the UAE for talks between his country and India, reports Gulf News.

In an interview with the daily, Qureshi lauded the UAE’s role in the Pakistan-India mediation leading to ceasefire on Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

“UAE has sizeable number of Pakistanis and the presence of Indians is even higher. Obviously, looking at the interest of peace and stability in the region, it only makes sense that the UAE feels that two players (Indian and Pakistan) in this region, who are estranged, should sit together and talk out their differences,” Qureshi said

Last week, the UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba had said that the UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to help the two countries reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been frozen since 2019. Qureshi, who is in the Emirates to meet the leadership of the Gulf country, said that Pakistan is ready to resume bilateral talks with India.

“Now, we have to see what the way forward is and how we can sit and talk as two neighbours to sort out our issues. I can assure you that Pakistan is ready to talk, provided India revisits the decision on Jammu and Kashmir, which in our opinion is not only illegal but also unilateral,” he said. (UNI)