New Delhi: Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Wednesday said terrorism was the main issue between India and Pakistan and making it “difficult” to better their ties.
“Problem is that the terrorism issue has become so central to the relationship that it makes the relationship difficult to grow,” Jaishankar said in his address at the Foreign Correspondents Club here.
He said while all Saarc nations agree on moving forward over various issues for regional development but Pakistan’s support to terrorism has made the country a difficult regional partner.
“We have one standout country in the region which has a different view of terrorism which makes it a difficult partner for all of us,” he said.
He said events in the last few weeks proved this.
He said that India has reached out to Pakistan and referred to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad in December last year to attend the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan.
In terms of initiatives by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), Jaishankar said that while other countries of the region agree, Pakistan has issues.
–IANS