'Pak should address concerns over its efforts to combat terrorism'

Pakistan should address the concerns expressed by many countries, including India, over its efforts to combat terrorism, a senior UAE official said.

Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts in reaching out to Pakistan, the official said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would like to see a better reaction from the Pakistani side to the peace overtures.

The official, however, made it clear that the UAE's bilateral relationship with India and Pakistan was independent of the ties between the two South Asian neighbours.

Pakistan and India are close friends of the UAE, which would like to see a growing relationship with both the countries, without undermining one over the other, the official said.

The UAE "does not deal with Pakistan or India through the prism of each other", the official said, on condition of anonymity.

Asked about the UAE's stand on the Kashmir issue in light of it being a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the official said India and Pakistan were important countries, not only for the UAE, but for the peace of the region.

The UAE believes that if Pakistan and India work with each other, it would be far better for both. It is regrettable to see that they are not working as they should, the official said.

"I applaud Prime Minister Modi for reaching out to Pakistan. I would like to see a better reaction from the Pakistani end, not only in respecting the overtures, but also in addressing the questions coming from India and from many countries around the world on them not doing enough when it comes to radicalisation, when it comes to extremism, when it comes to terrorism," the official said.

The UAE would like to see Pakistan addressing the issue of Afghanistan as well. "It is very unfortunate we are not seeing enough of that. But we hope that there will be a better effort from Pakistan down the road," the official said.

The official asserted that the relationship between the UAE and India was in its "golden age".

However, the official stressed that the potential of the relationship between India and the UAE was much more.

Calling for more Emirati investments, the official noted that the investment environment in India was opening up, making it much more interesting for investors from the Gulf country.

The official noted that the Middle East region's main challenge was from radicalisation.

A group of countries were willing to address radicalisation, but there is another group of countries which are either doing the opposite or not doing enough, the official said, without naming any country.