Modi 'Persuaded' By The U.S. To Resume Dialogue With Pakistan: Sartaj Aziz

SRINAGAR: The U.S. is behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reaching out to Pakistan with his decision to send Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to Islamabad, according to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s foreign Affairs Advisor.

Aziz believes that Modi was “persuaded” by the U.S. and others to resume the dialogue with Pakistan. “There may (also) be internal dynamics of Kashmir that have played some role,” he is quoted as having told Rising Kashmir newspaper in an interview in Islamabad.

The two foreign secretaries would discuss the agenda for resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue and its time line. Some groups may be sent and “we will pick up the threads which were left on August 25 last year to carry it forward,” he said.

Aziz referred to the recent visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to New Delhi and said that India has been urged to have better relations with Pakistan and resume dialogue with it.

Asked for his reaction to Modi’s telephone call to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he conveyed the decision to send Jaishankar to Pakistan, Aziz said that it was a good start but “whether it will lead to actual resumption of meaningful dialogue remains to be seen and it depends on the talks between the foreign secretaries”.

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