Basit denies Pak supports terror, advocates talks over Siachen, J&K

India and Pakistan need to start a new journey and work together to fight terrorism and bring peace in the region, Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit said on Saturday, toeing the usual line of denial about terror camps in his country.

Basit, faced with a barrage of questions at the India Today Conclave here over alleged cross-border terrorism, advocated India-Pakistan talks over Siachen, Kashmir and other pending issues between the two countries.

“The time has come to introspect and to see how can we be constructive in building good relationship,” Basit said, during a discussion India Pakistan — Love Story or Hate Tale.

Former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarathy was face to face with Basit during the over 30-minute talk that turned out to be a heated exchange between the two.

“There are no terror-training camps in Pakistan. Terrorism is one issue which is a common challenge for both the countries. We also need to discuss Siachen, Jammu and Kashmir,” Basit told the audience.

Parthasarathy countered Basit’s denial, reminding him of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was found living close to a military cantonment in Pakistan. “...and they deny backing terror groups.”

The former Indian diplomat said ex US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had told Pakistan “you can’t nurture snakes in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours”. “When they talk about being hit by terrorism they should remember they are responsible for it.”

Basit said the ties suffered from trust deficit that had to be addressed. “Dealing with terrorism requires cooperation. We need to deal with the issue of terrorism as well.” Parthasarathy said for better ties, India needed “to be reassured that nothing happens in the future and so borders should be sealed” to prevent terror incursion from across the country.