Desire peaceful ties with India, want to sort diplomats'

Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said today and asserted that Islamabad desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India.

In an address at a reception to mark Pakistan National Day, Mahmood, referring to overall ties between the two countries, said building a future different from the past remains indispensable and hoped that there would be hard reflection by both sides on the "time lost" and the "opportunities missed".

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat attended the event at the Pakistan embassy which was also joined by diplomats from a number of countries. Some low-ranking leaders from a number of separatist outfits from Kashmir also attended the reception.

Mahmood, who came back to India last night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, at a separate event earlier in the day, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries.

"I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," he said.

In his brief address at the reception in the evening, the Pakistan envoy said, "I do hope that at this pivotal moment, with India and Pakistan at 70, there would be hard reflection on the time lost, and the opportunities missed."
Mahmood said, "Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue."