Committed to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally: Govt

The Government Wednesday said it wants normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and was committed to addressing all outstanding issues bilaterally as it asserted that the onus is on Islamabad for creating a terror-free environment for a meaningful dialogue.

In written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister ofState for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said India has asked Pakistan totake “credible and irreversible” steps to end cross-border militancyand dismantle militant infrastructure in territory under its control.

   

Till then, he said, India will continue to take firm anddecisive steps to respond to all attempts at cross border infiltration andsupporting cover fire by Pakistan forces.

“The government desires normal neighbourly relationswith Pakistan and is committed to addressing all outstanding issues bilaterallyand peacefully in accordance with the Simla Agreement and the LahoreDeclaration,” Muraleedharan said.

However, any meaningful dialogue can only be held in anatmosphere free from hostility and violence, he said. “The onus is onPakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere,” he said.

The Minister said, “Following major cross-border attacks inIndia, Indian forces carried out a surgical strike against militant launch padsalong the Line of Control in September 2016 and a pre-emptive counter airstrike against militant camp in Balakot, Pakistan, in February.”

“After the Pulwama attack in February, India withdrew themost favoured nation status accorded to Pakistan and imposed a customs duty of200 per cent on all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan,” he said.

“The Government of India suspended cross-LoC trade from 19April 2019, on receiving reports that cross-LoC trade routes are being misusedby Pakistan-based elements for funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fakecurrency,” Muraleedharan said.

He said that “As a result of the government’s persistentefforts, there is enhanced concern in the international community over violenceemanating from Pakistan, including the continuing activities of internationallydesignated militant entities and individuals such as Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD),Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen.”

“International community strongly condemned the cross-bordermilitant  attack in Pulwama in Februaryand major partner countries have called upon Pakistan to not allow itsterritory to be used for militancy in any manner,” he said.

“Many militant entities and individuals who findshelter in Pakistan and are also engaged in militancy against India have beenproscribed by the United Nations (UN), the European Union and othercountries,” Muraleedharan said.

“On May 1, the United Nations 1267 Sanctions Committeedesignated Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad as a UN proscribedterrorist,” he said.

“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), at its plenary inJune 2018, notified Pakistan in the ‘grey list’ due to continuing militantfinancing related concerns, including with respect to the UN proscribedmilitant entities like LeT, JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation,” he said.

“India’s call to condemn militancy in all its forms andmanifestation, zero tolerance to terrorism, rejection of any justification foran act of militancy, delinking terror from religion and need for all forcesbelieving in humanity to unite in fight against militancy has found greateracceptance among the international community,” he said.

This is reflected in a number of outcome documents issuedafter bilateral summit meetings with various countries, and at regional andmultilateral fora, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20, BRICS,among others, the Minister said.To a separate question on whether the airspaceof Pakistan has been closed for Indian flights after the incident of Balakotand the time by which Pakistan is likely to remove restrictions on its airspaceusage, Muraleedhran said the airspace restrictions that were put in place byPakistan in February have been lifted with effect from  16 July 2019. 

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