Pak PM Sharif seeks talks with India to resolve 'burning' issues including Kashmir

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought serious and sincere talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for the resolution of the burning issues including on Kashmir and said the UAE could play an important role in facilitating the resumption of dialogue between the two nucleararmed neighboursPrime Minister Sharif made these comments during an interview with the Dubaibased Al Arabiya news channel on MondayRelations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and crossborder terrorism emanating from Pakistan India has previously rejected any thirdparty mediation on the Kashmir issueAlso read PM Narendra Modi to visit Mumbai on January 19 herersquos all you need to knowMy message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir Sharif saidHe said Pakistan and India are neighbours and have to live with each otherIt is up to us to live peacefully make progress or quarrel with each other and waste time and resources We have three wars with India and it only brought more misery poverty and unemployment to the people he explainedWe have learned our lesson and we want to live in peace provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems We want to alleviate poverty achieve prosperity and provide education and health facilities and employment to our people and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition that is the message I want to give to Prime Minister Modi he elaboratedIndia has maintained that terrorism and talks cannot go together and Islamabad should provide a conducive atmosphere for resumption of dialogueThe ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5 2019Indias decision evoked a strong reaction from Pakistan which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoyTrade ties between Pakistan and India have essentially been frozen since then We are nuclear powers armed to the teeth and if God forbid a war breaks out who will live to tell what happened he warnedDuring the interview Sharif said the United Arab Emirates UAE leadership could play an important role in bringing Pakistan and India togetherNew Delhi has maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and no third country has a role in itThe Union Territory of Jammu amp Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same the Ministry of External Affairs has said previously Sharif said the UAE was a second home for millions of Pakistanis days after he visited the Gulf nation which was aimed at securing fresh loans ramping up bilateral cooperation and trade tiesHe also lauded Saudi Arabia for being a friendly and brotherly countryBefore Pakistan came into being and was carved out of India millions of Muslims had brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and were visiting Makkah and Madina he addedLast week Pakistans Foreign Office said it welcomed thirdparty mediation in the resolution of all outstanding issues with India including KashmirThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever