Prime Minister of Pakistan talks with Narendra Modi

Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has urged for serious and genuine talks” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “hot problems like Kashmir” in comments that are perceived as constructive in Delhi. He added that his nation wanted peace with its neighbors after learning its lesson from three wars with India that “only produced more suffering, misery, and unemployment.”

Speaking in an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, Sharif asked UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s help in bringing up India and Pakistan for negotiations. He claimed that he has sworn on his honor that he will speak to the Indian side in good faith. Pointing out that India and Pakistan were nuclear powers, the Pakistan Prime Minister asked if “a war breaks out, who will live to tell what happened?”

His office pulled a stronger line and stated that he always believed that Pakistan and India must handle their international disputes, including the crucial Jammu & Kashmir conflict, through discussion and diplomatic methods after the conversation was published by Pakistan’s ruling party, Sharif’s PML(N).

“Let’s get down at the table and have genuine, sincere discussions to tackle our pressing concerns, including Kashmir, ” is my appeal to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Modi. It is up to us whether we coexist quietly and advance or fight and squander time and resources, Sharif remarked in the discussion. 

“We’ve fought three wars with India, and each one has made the people’s suffering, misery, and instability worse. We’ve learned from our mistakes and we intend to coexist peacefully with India, so long as we can find solutions to our real issues, he said.

“India is a neighboring country to us; we live next door. Let’s be clear: even if we didn’t choose to be neighbors, we are in there always, and it’s up to us whether we choose to coexist amicably and advance or fight and lose time and resources. We have to decide that,” he stated.

Kashmir was also brought up by Sharif, who stated that while Pakistan desired peace, what was occurring in Kashmir needed to stop. Repeating the Pakistani claim that India has rejected, he claimed that “blatant human rights violations are going on, day after day” in Kashmir.

According to Sharif, the Kashmiri people “deserve whatever sense of sovereignty [that] was granted to the Kashmiris] in the Constitution, under Article 370, which (was) abrogated in August 2019.”

Sharif brought up another issue that has widened the gap between the two nations, asserting that “minorities over there are being severely mismanaged.” India has always refuted this accusation.

A crucial signal to Delhi is believed to have been sent by the Pakistani prime minister’s comments and China’s decision to allow the LeT deputy head to be added to the list of international terrorists. India has praised the terrorist list but has not commented on Sharif’s comments. Before executing any action, Delhi will carefully monitor the interactions between Pakistan’s civilian administration and military. I won’t go into much detail, but suffice it to state that this needs to stop so that the world knows that India is ready for negotiations and we’re more than prepared.

According to Sharif, both nations have engineers, physicians, and talented workers. “We want to use these resources to make the region prosperous and peaceful so that both countries may advance… Pakistan does not wish to spend money on ammo and explosives. Who will survive to relate what transpired if, God forbid, a war breaks out between two nuclear-armed superpowers?” he posed. Sharif called the president of the UAE a “brother of Pakistan” with “excellent ties to India.” 

He could be a key player in getting the two nations to the negotiating table. And I swear on my honor that we would speak to Indians sincerely, but it takes two to tango,” Sharif said, clapping his hands together to reinforce the message.

Later, Sharif’s office issued a statement in which it stated: “About Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s interview with Al Arabiya channel, the spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office has stated that the Prime Minister had consistently stated that Pakistan and India must settle their bilateral issues, particularly the crucial issue of Jammu & Kashmir, via conversation and peaceful methods.” The statement continued, “However, the Prime Minister has frequently emphasized on the record that discussion can only proceed after India has revoked its illegal move of August 5, 2019; consultations are not practicable without India’s withdrawal of this decision. The resolution of the Kashmir conflict must be in line with UN resolutions and the desires of the Jammu and Kashmiri people.