India stance holding region back, Janjua says

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua has said Islamabad will step up efforts for peace in its neighbourhood “despite New Delhi’s negative attitude”.

Speaking on Tuesday at a conference on “Conflict and Cooperation in South Asia: Role of Major Powers” hosted by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Janjua said: “We are convinced that we will continue to try for peace and stability in the region,” Dawn news reported.

Referring to India’s approach on ties with Pakistan, Janjua said New Delhi was “spinning hatred” and perpetuating “dynamic rivalry”.

‘Summit held hostage’

This, she maintained, was not only unhelpful for improving Pakistan-India ties, but was also stopping South Asia from making progress and attaining peace.

The Foreign Secretary said India, by refusing to attend the Saarc summit in Islamabad, was holding the regional body’s summit process “hostage”.

About the new government’s policy on India, Janjua spoke of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first nationwide address after elections in which he had offered to take two steps for every single step that India would take for normalisation of ties with Pakistan.