Pak govt willing to consider returning Abhinandan if it leads to de-escalation

Foreign Minister Qureshi asks if Modi was ready to talk to Imran Khan

pak_foreign-minister Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi | AP

Amid rising friction between India and Pakistan, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said his government was willing to consider returning captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan if it would lead to de-escalation of tensions between the two countries. 

Qureshi said that Pakistan was willing for an all-positive engagement. “If there is de-escalation with the return of this [Indian] pilot, Pakistan is willing to consider this. We are ready for all positive engagement," Pakistan-based Geo News quoted Qureshi as saying on Thursday.

At the same time, Qureshi said that he has just received a dossier from India, and was yet to examine it. "I have just received the [Indian] dossier and have not gotten the chance to examine it. We briefed parliamentary leaders last night, there was a meeting of the cabinet. There is the joint session. I will still say that we will see and examine the dossier with an open heart. I wish they [India] would have sent this dossier earlier. They attacked first and then sent the dossier. If they would have sent the dossier first and sought Pakistan’s answer there would be no need for an attack."

Further Qureshi asked if Prime Minister Modi was ready to talk to his Pakistani counterpart to ease the tension. "Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to talk to Narendra Modi on the telephone and ready to extend an invitation of peace. Is Modi ready?” Qureshi asked. "If India wants to talk about terrorism then we are ready."

On Wednesday, Khan, too, had offered to defuse tensions through talks. "I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's... Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he had said soon after Abhinandan had landed in Pakistan's custody on Wednesday.

Qureshi went on to accuse India of making political mileage out of the issue. "You [India] want to risk regional stability for politics," he said and added that "it could be the need of politics but history will not forgive you". Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also criticised the Indian government for trying to capitalise on escalating tensions.