Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday said that the reluctance of India to hold talks will not make Islamabad close the doors on its efforts to promote peace in the region. “India is reluctant, we will not close our doors,” the Minister said while addressing a news conference at the Pakistan Embassy.
“Hiding away from issues will not make them disappear. It will not improve the situation in Kashmir,” Dawn online quoted Qureshi as saying. The Pakistan minister further said that he has not been able to understand India’s decision to back off from holding a dialogue with the country that the latter had agreed to.
Reiterating that all Pakistan wanted was talks, Qureshi said, “Engagement, no-engagement. Coming, not coming. We desired talks as we believe the sensible way is to meet and talk.” He further said that India had first agreed, and then disagreed. He also pointed out that India’s response was “harsh and non-diplomatic”.
“We want peace. It does not mean, we cannot defend ourselves against aggression. We can but we do not have an aggressive mindset,” he said.