Lahore:
Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri has said that the relations between India and Pakistan are currently going through the worst phase of history, leaving the time of war. However, he also said that sudden positive changes may also come in bilateral relations. In an event organized by the Institute of Peace and Connectivity (IPAC) in Lahore in Lahore, in a program organized on the topic ‘Pakistan-India Relations: Current Status and Ahead’, Kasuri said that mutual talks are the only way for both countries to resolve their pending issues.
Describing the current time as one of the worst phase of history in terms of India-Pakistan relations, Kasuri said that even after the war, New Delhi and Islamabad soon came to the conversation table to resume the peace process.
IPAC President Kasuri said that if the two countries miss the opportunity to resolve mutual disputes peacefully, it would be sad, because they have already agreed blueprints as a four -point formula for the possible solution of the Kashmir issue.
Kasuri, who was the foreign minister from 2002 to 2007, was clearly referring to the ‘solution’ allegedly suggested by former President Pervez Musharraf to the Indian leadership.
Kasuri underlined that he worked on the peace process with the governments led by former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. He said that so he is sure that despite the current disappointing situation, most of the people of India want peace with Pakistan.
Kasuri said that despite the challenges and the current confrontation, his experience has taught him that there may be sudden positive changes in Pakistan-India relations. He reminded how Musharraf, who was called the architect of the Kargil war, was later warmly welcomed in New Delhi.
Kasuri said that similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had surprised everyone by meeting the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in 2015.
He claimed, “There were reliable reports that Prime Minister Modi would visit Pakistan in April 2021. Obviously there was a possibility of visiting the Hinglaj Mata Temple to visit Islamabad to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit the Hinglaj Mata Temple and to resume the peace process later.”
He said that I do not deny the possibility of similar surprising events in future also.