Onus on India to take steps for meaningful engagement: Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday he was “absolutely willing and ready” to engage with India for the sake of regional peace and prosperity, but the onus was on New Delhi to take the necessary measures “for meaningful and result-oriented engagement”.

“I am absolutely ready and willing to have a serious dialogue and discussion with our counterparts, Indians, provided that they show sincerity of purpose and they show that they are ready to discuss issues that have really kept us at a distance over decades,” Dawn news quoted the premier as saying while addressing the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Kazakhstan.

The Prime Minister regretted issues that have kept the two countries apart had hampered the promotion of bilateral trade and investment.

“This has to come to a stop,” he stressed, adding, “but the onus remains on India to take the necessary steps for meaningful and result oriented-engagement”.

“Pakistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbours, including India.”

Sharif further said that the people deserve resources to be diverted to their education and health.

“I want to leave behind a legacy of peace and progress for the prosperity of the coming generations of our region,” he said.

“Pakistan’s first priority at the moment is to revive rapid and equitable economy”.

He, however, said, the “onus remains on India to take a necessary step to engage towards the result-oriented solutions”.