NEW DELHI: India said on Thursday that it wishes to have normal neighborhood relations with Pakistan and that problems, if any, between the two countries should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence.
At the same time, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V Muraleedharan He said Pakistan has a responsibility to create a conducive atmosphere, including by taking “credible, verifiable and irreversible” measures to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross-border terrorism against India.
The minister was answering a question in Rajya sabha on India’s policy towards Pakistan and its foreign policy initiatives to counter that country on the issue of terrorism.
He said that India has consistently raised the issue of Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism on bilateral, regional and multilateral platforms.
As a result of India’s efforts, he said there is now a growing concern globally about terrorism emanating from Pakistan, including the continued activities of internationally designated terrorist entities and individuals like Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), Lashkar-e-Taiba (Leave), Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen etc.
“India wishes normal neighborly relations with Pakistan. Our constant position is that the problems, if any, between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully, in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence,” he said.
Muraleedharan said that many terrorist entities and individuals, operating out of Pakistan and participating in terrorist activities in India, have been banned by the UN, the European Union and other countries.
He also referred to a decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February to retain Pakistan on the ‘Gray List’ due to continuing concerns related to terrorist financing.
“These vindicate India’s consistent stance that internationally designated terrorist groups and individuals continue to operate from Pakistan and collect financial resources with impunity, and use territories under their control to carry out cross-border terrorism in India and other parts of the South. from Asia, “the minister said.
He said that India’s call to condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to delink terror from religion has found greater acceptance among the international community and is reflected in a series of final documents released after bilateral and multilateral summits.
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