NEW DELHE India’s federal external affairs Minister Inder Kumar Gujral said the new government was seeking harmonious relations with South Asian neighbors but Pakistan’s reported, “intervention in the form of stepped up militant activities in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has been very sad and a matter of concern, PTI reports.
“But I do hope that when we open talks with Pakistan, they will appreciate that it is a venture which will not take them anywhere,” Gujral said in the national television’s “Focus” program.
Gujral felt that it might be pinpricks for India for a while. But Pakistan should see that it also had vested interest in the era of peace and cooperation which India wanted to usher in the South Asian region.
“Unless they see this point, this process we want to initiate in the region will be handicapped,” Gujral said.
Gujral said he had very good meetings with the foreign ministers of Nepal and Sri Lanka recently.
The central theme, he stressed, remained the same. “It is far more profitable to be friends and build an era of peace and cooperation in the South Asian region,” he said.
Gujral felt that it would take time to resolve standing issues with neighboring countries.
Referring to momentous developments in Eastern Europe, he said the emergence of a new scenario made it imperative to have a fresh approach.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 19, 1990
