Dialogue with Pak will only materialize in peaceful environment, says Sushma Swaraj

The External Affairs Minister added that the Modi government's foreign policy could be judged by visits, dialogues and outcomes

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said that India's dialogues with Pakistan can only materialise in a peaceful environment, urging Islamabad to take action against militants like Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

"Both India and Pakistan have supported each other during difficult times, irrespective of the bitterness in our relationship. And when the Peshawar incident happened, Prime Minister Modi called up the Pakistani Prime Minister, assuring him that India is with his country in this hour of need," Swaraj said at a press conference here.

"Our dialogue with Pakistan will only materialize in a peaceful milieu, and this can only be possible when Pakistan takes action against the perpetrators [of violence] like Lakhvi and others," she added.

Swaraj further said that India's policy with respect to Pakistan hinged on only three factors.

"Our Pakistan policy is quite simple, and our relationship with that nation is based on three principles for dialogue - the first is that we are ready to solve all issues in a peaceful manner; the second is that the dialogue will be between India and Pakistan, and no third party will be involved; and the third is that the talks will take place in a non-violent zone," she said.

Swaraj added that the Modi-led government's foreign policy could be best judged by three factors - visits, dialogues and outcomes, adding that contacts have been made with 101 countries in the past one year.

"I believe that the success of foreign policy is best judged by three factors: visit, dialogue and outcome. We calculated the figures and we realised that India has made contact with 101 countries in the past one year, just via the efforts of the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs," she said.

"This does not count all the other ministers who travelled for work relating to their ministries. This includes our visits abroad, foreign dignitaries visiting India and the one on one talks that we have had with foreign leaders on the sidelines of multilateral forums," she added.

Swaraj was talking to the media after releasing a booklet titled 'Transformational Diplomacy', listing what the External Affairs Ministry has done over the past one year.

The NDA Government completed one year in office on May 26.