India could not respond to Pakistan's dossier on terrorism, says Shah Mahmood Qureshi

MULTAN: Minister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday said that India has failed to respond to Pakistan's dossier on terrorism.

Talking to journalists in the city, Qureshi also touched upon the topic of the Indian atrocities in Kashmir and said that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in its resolution, has jointly rejected India's policy on India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, adding that there has been no consensus regarding the policy on Kashmir in India either. 

The minister said that during the 47th session of the OIC, 57 countries condemned the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

"India has been pushed into a defensive position now. It tried to take the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) but it also failed in that regard," he said.

Qureshi said that as per the decision of the ICJ, India had been offered consular access in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case twice before. 

"For the third time, India has refused to accept this facility," he said. 

Biden administration will prefer talks over confrontation

Sharing his opinion about Pakistan's future relationship with the United States once US Election 2020 winner Joe Biden assumes office in January, Qureshi said he thinks that the new administration would have a different approach as compared to the Trump administration. 

"I think the Biden administration will prefer negotiations over confrontation," Qureshi said. 

PTI has become a political reality

The foreign minister shed light on the current political climate in the country and said that PTI and Prime Minister Imran Khan have become a reality for Pakistan.

"PM Imran Khan has come with a public mandate after a long struggle. He has become a political reality," he said.

Nawaz's return

Regarding Nawaz Sharif's return to Pakistan, the foreign minister said that the government is making efforts to bring him back and is currently resolving some legal complications related to the matter. 

"We are in talks with the British government regarding Nawaz Sharif's deportation to Pakistan. The PML-N supremo is in good health, so he should return to the country now," Qureshi stressed. 

He added that PM Imran Khan and his government is ready to discuss all issues with PML-N except for NRO and corruption. 

Govt never refused talks with PDM

Qureshi said that the PTI-led government has never refused to hold negotiations with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), adding that the government invited PDM leaders to hold talks twice regarding their demands but they did not show up.

"We also invited them to come and negotiate with us regarding the coronavirus situation in the country, but they showed no interest," he said.