Tensions with India have cooled off, US is to be thanked for it: Qureshi

[HAIDER]

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that tensions with India appear to have de-escalated, for which he credited the private diplomacy of the US as well as China and Saudi Arabia, among others.

"There appears to be a de-escalation in tensions [with India] which is a positive development," Qureshi said in a chat with media personnel in Islamabad. "I would especially like to thank US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. By utilising private diplomacy, the US has played a very positive role. I'd also like to mention the efforts of China, Russia, Saudi Arab, Turkey, Jordan and UAE for trying to defuse the situation through diplomacy."

Read: Sarwar urges UK, EU MPs to play role for de-escalation

The foreign minister said that as a result of the cooling tensions, it has been decided to send the high commissioner to India back to New Delhi.

"Pakistan has upped its diplomatic offensive," he said. "We have decided that our High Commissioner to India, Sohail Mahmood, who has been here for consultations, should return to New Delhi."

Qureshi said that Islamabad has also decided to go ahead with scheduled discussions with New Delhi over the Kartarpur corridor as planned.

"As promised, a delegation is ready to go to Delhi on March 14 for talks on Kartarpur so that work on the corridor begins," he said.

Furthermore, the minister said that Pakistan is open to the resumption of weekly contact between military officials.

"The director general military operations of both the sides used to contact each other every Tuesday. We are ready for resumption of that contact," he added.


DAWN.COM

 

[El Sidd]

Dawn is halal now?

"I would especially like to thank US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. By utilising private diplomacy, the US has played a very positive role. I'd also like to mention the efforts of China, Russia, Saudi Arab, Turkey, Jordan and UAE for trying to defuse the situation through diplomacy."

Why did Mr. Qureshi not mention Iran? Iran was one of the first countries to both threaten and offered to mediate during the tensions which are escalating despite his statement.

 

[Rusty]

Dawn is halal now?

All facts are Halal.
What is Dawn misreporting?

 

[El Sidd]

All facts are Halal.
What is Dawn misreporting?

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that tensions with India appear to have de-escalated

 

[VCheng]

"There appears to be a de-escalation in tensions [with India] which is a positive development,"

Just as predicted.

 

[Jf Thunder]

nothing has deescalated

 

[VCheng]

"I would especially like to thank US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. By utilising private diplomacy, the US has played a very positive role.

Uncle Sam to the rescue, as often happens. Also predictable.

 

[Rusty]

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that tensions with India appear to have de-escalated

How are they misrepreporting that? Shah Mahmood literally said that.

 

[El Sidd]

nothing has deescalated

stop employing pathological liars at the position of FM. Was 1971 not a lesson enough that these feudal lords cannot think beyond their own glorification?

How are they misrepreporting that? Shah Mahmood literally said that.

Not Qureshi. But the newspaper should highlight that despite what the FM would like to project, things have not cooled down between Pakistan and India.

 

[Jf Thunder]

stop employing pathological liars at the position of FM. Was 1971 not a lesson enough that these feudal lords cannot think beyond their own glorification?

indeed, our Govt tends to keep things hidden until they spiral out of control
then suddenly they tell is we are at war
and then we suddenly find out that East Pakistan has fallen

 

[El Sidd]

indeed, our Govt tends to keep things hidden until they spiral out of control
then suddenly they tell is we are at war
and then we suddenly find out that East Pakistan has fallen

the government is not even telling us whose attacking us and from where and how.

keeping things secret in 2019? How visionary

 

[Jf Thunder]

the government is not even telling us whose attacking us and from where and how.

keeping things secret in 2019? How visionary

even the public has plenty of sources
bit sources aside from official Govt channels tend to create more uncertainty and panic
I dont know, what they are trying to achieve by this

 

[El Sidd]

even the public has plenty of sources
bit sources aside from official Govt channels tend to create more uncertainty and panic
I dont know, what they are trying to achieve by this

riding the storm. this war actually came as a blessing in disguise for this toothless government.

 

[Jf Thunder]

riding the storm. this war actually came as a blessing in disguise for this toothless government.

lets just hope this Govt does not mess it up

 

[Yankee-stani]

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that tensions between Pakistan and India that escalated in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack “seem to be de-escalating”.

Qureshi said this while addressing a national conference on the start of the next phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies.

Lauding it as a “positive development”, Qureshi pinned it to Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts and said that Pakistan’s decision to send the Pakistani high commissioner back to New Delhi is an extension of those efforts.

Moreover, the foreign minister added, a Pakistani delegation is due to visit New Delhi to hold dialogue over the Kartarpur Corridor. An Indian delegation is also expected to Pakistan later this month to discuss Kartarpur Corridor.

Speaking on Pak-China relations, Qureshi said that this relationship contributes to peace and political stability in the region and counters aggressive forces that threaten to undermine it.

He claimed that China played the part of a mediator between Pakistan and India after the Pulwama tragedy and advised them to resolve their conflict through dialogue.

Moreover, he said that the landmark project, CPEC, forged new relations between the two countries that are now the central pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

He also resolved that Pakistan wants to expand relations with China in the sectors of science, technology and agriculture.

The foreign minister also thanked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his role in diffusing the current situation with India, iterating that “private diplomacy worked”.

He asserted that the US played a significant role in de-escalating regional tensions through private diplomacy. He also thanked foreign ministers of China, Russia, Turkey, UAE and Jordan for contributing to the resolution of tensions between the two countries.

Qureshi’s statement comes as the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again reiterated his call for Pakistan and India to seek a resolution of the latest conflict and de-escalate tensions lest they threaten the peace and prosperity of the region.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson of the UN chief, asserted that they are fully aware of the severity of the issue at hand.

Dujarric said that the UN chief was in touch with both sides at various levels to “express his concern and the need to do as much as anyone can to de-escalate the tensions.” But, he said, the secretary-general had not yet spoken to the prime ministers of the two countries — Imran Khan and Narendra Modi — “as far as I am aware.”