India wants to have good relations with Pakistan, free of terror: Jaishankar in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: India wants to have good relations with Pakistan that are free of terror but if it does not show it is changing its past behaviour, then there will be implications on bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The minister also said that trade relations had been disrupted due to certain decisions taken by Pakistan in 2019.

“I would like to inform the honourable member that in terms of improving ties with Pakistan, like any other neighbour, we would like to have good relations with Pakistan. But, like any other neighbour, we would also like to have relations free of terrorists,” he said during Question Hour.

This has been the position of the government of India, Jaishankar said.

“We have made it very clear that it is for the Pakistani side to show that they are changing their behaviour of the past and if they don’t, of course, there are implications on relations. So the ball is very much in Pakistan’s court in this regard,” he said.

Trade ties with Pakistan were snapped after the Centre abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)