Pakistan says ‘onus on India’ to restart dialogue

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Qureshi says India must reverse steps in Kashmir before Pakistan comes to the table.

Karachi, Pakistan – Pakistan’s foreign minister has thrown down the gauntlet to India to restart direct dialogue between the two countries, saying the “onus lies on [them]” to reverse steps in the disputed region of Kashmir and end alleged rights abuses there before the two countries can come to the table.

Speaking to Al Jazeera in a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi accused the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of adopting “aggressive rhetoric” and “acting irresponsibly”.

Bilateral relations between the two rivals stalled around September 2016 after India said its military conducted a “surgical strike” on Pakistani territory.

In July 2018, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attempted to restart dialogue after he won the election.

In February 2019, India conducted air raids on Pakistani territory following an attack on Indian security forces in Pulwama in Kashmir that killed more than 40 people.

India blamed Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistan-based armed group, for the attack and said its air attacks targeted a “training camp” near the northern Pakistani town of Balakot.

In December, Pakistan warned the international community that it had intelligence that India was preparing another attack on Pakistani territory, and that Pakistan’s military would respond “a notch above” if required.

At the time, Qureshi had said India had sought “tacit approval” from world powers for the possible attacks.

In November, Pakistan announced it had prepared a dossier with specific intelligence, including intercepted phone conversations and documentary proof, showing that India’s intelligence services, with the knowledge of Prime Minister Modi, were sponsoring armed groups that target Pakistan.