• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

PAKISTAN MISSION TO THE

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

Press Statement issued on 12 June 1998 on Pakistan's offer for the resumption of talks with India.

Pakistan has termed the Indian offer for resumption of talks on June 22 as a traditional gimmickry of Indian diplomacy.

The Spokesman of the Foreign Office has stated that Pakistan had yesterday made an offer for the resumption of talks to India on the basis agreed upon by both the countries on 23rd  June last year.

Instead of responding positively to this offer of talks on the agreed basis India has asked for the resumption of talks on the basis of the proposals made by New Delhi in January 1998.  These proposals were not acceptable to Pakistan as a working basis for resumption of talks as these were totally unrealistic and reflected India's consistently negative and non-serious approach towards dialogue.

By ignoring the agreed basis for talks and calling for resumption of dialogue on the basis of its own proposals India has in effect once again sabotaged the dialogue process.  It may be recalled that the P-5 in their meeting at Geneva last week as well as the Security Council have urged resumption of dialogue for addressing the root-cause of tension in South Asia.  The Secretary General of the UN is also actively engaged in promoting the dialogue process.  All these efforts are now being negated by India with her obstructionist policies in defiance of the will of the international community.  This yet again highlights that bilaterally the dialogue will remain deadlocked or non-productive.  It forcefully underscores the imperative of the engagement of the international community with this process in some form i.e. good offices, mediation or initiatives by the UN Secretary General.  Pakistan has therefore welcomed the proposed visit of the Secretary General's Special Envoy to the region which signifies the urgent need for finding a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.  This core issue is at the heart of all problems afflicting South Asia for the last fifty years.

Pakistan is not surprised at all as the Indians are always opposed to dialogue for a just settlement of the core issue of Kashmir in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.

In pursuance of the proposal formally conveyed yesterday by Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad to the Indian High Commissioner the Government of Pakistan invites the government of India to send a delegation led by its Foreign Secretary to Islamabad for talks on June 20th 1998.  In view of the prevailing serious security situation, Pakistan would like that the two countries urgently address the issue of Peace and Security and Jammu and Kashmir which top the agreed agenda.

Simultaneously, the Indians have also rejected Pakistan's offer of a formal test ban treaty between the two countries to defuse nuclear tensions in South Asia.  The Spokesman of the Foreign Office said that even this rejection does not surprise Pakistan.  India is averse to any constructive proposal which it deems may serve as a check on her provocative and hegemonistic policies.  Pakistan had made the test ban proposal in order to stabilize the nuclearized South Asia and to avert any further tests of nuclear devices.

Islamabad
12 June 1998