India remains cautious to Imran govt’s overtures

KOLKATA: The Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has opened a window for talks, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria, said on Saturday. He,however, maintained that India is "filled with cautious hope".

The high commissioner said India is pushing hard on the humanitarian grounds for the release of prisoners of the two countries in each other's jails. "The bilateral relations received a setback after the (terrorist) Pathankot and Uri attacks. But after the new government came to Pakistan, a new political window has opened up and we are filled with a cautious hope," he said at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta here.

Bisaria, who is an alumnus of the institute, said the Indian government hopes the ceasefire would prevail at the international border, which is necessary for the bilateral conversation to begin. "Both the prime ministers (Narendra Modi and Imran Khan) had conversations over phone which were very positive," he said. Noting that the relations between India and Pakistan solely rest on the issue of terrorism, he said: "Terrorism is the deal-breaker. What is important is a bilateral conversation. That will happen when terrorism ends."