NEW DELHI: Pakistan and India should address the core issue of Kash­mir for the sake of peace and pros­perity for their people but High Com­missioner Abdul Basit also said in an interview published here on Wednesday that cricketing ties should continue.

“I think we should play cricket and other sports too... If we put off all sporting ties until we solve our problems, that wouldn’t be wise. These events do help create a better environment and we need that,” Mr Basit told The Hindu.

Mr Basit’s tenure began a few months before the advent of the Modi government. Those three years have seen many low points in bilateral ties — from the cancellation of the Foreign Secretary-level talks in August 2014 following Mr Basit’s invitation to Hurriyat leaders to a near-freeze in dialogue over terror attacks that India says emanate from Pakistan.

However, Mr Basit said that the agreement between the two sides on a framework for comprehensive dialogue in December 2015 was a silver lining. While reiterating Pakistan’s position that talks and preconditions cannot go together, he is optimistic that they will resume in the near future.

As he ends his stint, he spoke about need for a structured initiative on the ‘front channel’ and called for keeping the door open to all possibilities. Never one to give up hope, he said: “We were very hopeful because our prime minister took a very bold decision to travel to India in May 2014, but after that the process got stuck. Notwithstanding all the problems, the two countries were able to agree on a framework to restart talks in December 2015 and on the comprehensive bilateral dialogue, which was our biggest achievement in the last three years. Now, whenever the two sides agree to talk to each other, at least we wouldn’t be spending too much time finalising the modalities for talks. In diplomacy, you cannot simply lock the door and throw the key away. You have to keep the door open for possibilities. I am hopeful that Pakistan and India will talk to each other, but whether it happens now or two years down the road, I do not know.”

Talking to Hurriyat leaders was not new for Pakistan although India suspended bilateral parleys after one such meeting. Mr Basit clarified that more talks were held with Hurryat after the Indian demarche and official talks were also held.

“Since then too, we have been meeting the Hurriyat leadership and there has been no problem. Our meetings should be seen in a constructive way, as it helps us find a just and fair solution to the longstanding dispute over Jammu and Kashmir,” the high commissioner said. “Pakistan’s position is that the Hurriyat represents the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and that’s why these talks are necessary.”

Pakistan feels that talks and preconditions do not go together while India has a different position. His comment: “Now terrorism is also a big issue for us, and in Pakistan, Commander [Kulbhushan] Jadhav’s conviction has proven our concerns. We aren’t shying away from issues like terrorism. But even when you look at the Mumbai or Pathankot attacks, if you want to conduct a proper trial, the two countries would need to cooperate with each other. And this cooperation cannot take place in a void or a vacuum. Without talking, how can you realistically expect these issues to come to a close? I feel that now that we have a framework under which to resume talks, it is just a matter of time.”

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma said recently that there were three conditions for talks: that issues must be resolved through dialogue, dialogue must be bilateral and terror and talks can’t go simultaneously. What was Pakistan’s objection to that?

“As I said, talks and preconditions can’t go together. We have no qualms about solving our problems bilaterally, and we have been trying to do that,” Mr Basit said.

The high commissioner was asked if it was the case that Pakistan is constantly looking for a third party. A few days ago, the Russian government had to deny the reported Pakistani contention that President Vladimir Putin had offered to mediate.

“Well, we have not seen much progress in the 40-plus years since the Shimla agreement (1972) on bilateral talks, on the core dispute. If there is no movement on the bilateral front, you cannot expect Pakistan not to even discuss that with the rest of the world... Jammu and Kashmir is central to Pakistan-India relations, and we feel that is the root cause of all our problems,” Mr Basit said.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017