Onus on Pakistan to restore ties: Modi

India wants normal and neighbourly relations, but it is incumbent upon Islamabad to create a conducive environment, says BJP leader

By News Desk
May 20, 2023
This handout photo taken and released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan shows Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving for the G7 Leaders Summit at Hiroshima airport in Mihara, Hiroshima prefecture on May 19, 2023. —AFP
This handout photo taken and released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan shows India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving for the G7 Leaders' Summit at Hiroshima airport in Mihara, Hiroshima prefecture on May 19, 2023. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in comments published on Friday that India wanted normal relations with Pakistan, adding “the onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard.”

Modi said in an interview ahead of his visit to Japan to attend the G7 summit, India wants “normal and neighbourly relations,” but it is incumbent upon Islamabad to create a conducive environment free from “terrorism and hostilities”. 

India-Pakistan relations have been frozen since 2019 when New Delhi changed the status of Jammu and Kashmir state, ended its special privileges and converted it into a federal territory.