Islamabad, September 17: Accepting that New Delhi is unlikely to make any concessions in the New York meetings of the foreign secretaries and ministers, Pakistani foreign minister on Thursday (September 17) Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the talks will not be unconditional.
Qureshi said that he was not expecting any breakthrough on improving ties with India but that he will make Islamabad’s stance clear.
External affairs minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart are likely to meet in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA on September 26.
Ahead of the meeting, the foreign secretaries of the two countries are also scheduled to meet in New York.
India has continued to say that there can be forward movement in bilateral ties only if Islamabad acts on terror.
Meanwhile, even as Pakistan remains silent on Musharraf’s shocking admission of misusing US aid, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will raise the issue with US Secretary of State HIllary Clinton when they meet in New York on September 25th.
Musharraf’s admission strengthens India’s long standing claim that Pakistan has been using US military aid to bolster its defences against India.
India has been maintaining that much of the military aid that Pakistan gets from the US for fighting terrorism is diverted to strengthen the Pakistani armed forces’ capabilities against India.
On September 13 Former President Pervez Musharraf has said that military aid provided by the US to Pakistan for the war against terror during his tenure had been used to strengthen defences against India, the first such admission by any top Pakistani leader.
Musharraf admitted that he had violated rules governing the use of the military aid, and justified his actions by saying he had “acted in the best interest of Pakistan.”
In an interview with a news channel, he said he “did not care” whether the US would be angered by his disclosure.
The former military ruler, who resigned as President in August last year to avoid impeachment, said he was not ready to compromise on Pakistan’s interests.
India and several influential lawmakers in the US have been saying that Pakistan had used funds given to it by the US to take on militants to strengthen its defences against India. However, Pakistan had been denying the charges.
–Agencies