New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had “risked elections” to improve ties with India, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said expressing disappointment over the current government “not doing enough” in this regard.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “casual meeting” with Sharif on the sidelines of climate summit in Paris, Khurshid said such an engagement will have meaning only if the two countries are going to be “honest” and serious intention to make progress.
He dismissed criticism over his recent speech in Pakistan saying that he had instead urged the western neighbour to give up Kashmir. That was the major point of my speech and not criticising the Indian government, he said.
“I have some personal knowledge through meetings and close observations that Nawaz Sharif risked his election when he said he wants better relations with India and will go the extra mile,” Khurshid said at the Times Litfest here.
The senior Congress leader said that when Sharif embraced Modi during his visit to India, “his intention was to find a solution. I was disappointed that the present government of India has not done enough.”
“I think that we need to know if there was a substantive conversation and if there is any indication of intent of seriously moving forward. Otherwise meeting is meaningless,” he said on the sidelines of the event.