Pakistan wants to smoke peace pipe with India, invites Modi to visit country

NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD : As India awaits the Narendra Modi-led BJP government to take charge, Pakistan on Monday hoped for an early resumption of peace dialogue between the two countries and that the two sides would work to resolve their “differences and disputes”.

Pakistan high commissioner in India Abdul Basit said that as neighbours, the two countries have no option but to talk to each other and normalise relations.

Basit said the two democracies “have to decide whether we will bury the hatchet or will continue to be at daggers drawn indefinitely”. He also added, “The two countries and its people cannot afford to move in the wrong direction and be on the wrong side of history.”

Pakistan also believes that the next four to five months will be crucial as they will determine “how things move forward”.

Seeking to engage with a Narendra Modi-led government, the Pakistan government is also hopeful that Mr Modi will be able to make an early visit to Pakistan and have already extended an invitation to him.

The composite dialogue process between the two countries has been in deep freeze and bilateral ties strained since January 2013. Emphasising the need for peace, the Mr Basit said it can “only be advanced through a dialogue process” and that “we have seen pre-conditions did not work, nor can they work in the future”.