India-Pakistan relations like 'saas-bahu', says envoy

Kolkata, March 18 (IANS) Likening the "conflict-riddled" relationship between India and Pakistan with that of "saas-bahu" relations, Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Wednesday hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his country for the Saarc summit would lead to resumption of peace talks.

"Indo-Pakistan relation is riddled with conflicts and issues. Despite the abundance of mutual goodwill, we have not allowed this relation to grow as normal. We talk to each other for years... one little incident on the Line of Control and we stop talking to each other like saas and bahu," Basit said here at an event.

"The next summit will be in Pakistan and we hope that it will be a huge success because all Saarc leaders will be there. One hopes that Modi's visit to Pakistan would add more to it beyond the Saarc issues," he said.

The envoy said Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhury was very positive and would lead to "something tangible".

Even as he asserted it was an opportune time to carry forward the momentum, Basit said Pakistan was not in a hurry and would wait for India.

"If India feels it is not yet the right time to talk, we can wait... but we will like to see this engagement to resume as quickly as possible. We are also not in a hurry in that sense," he said.

Following media queries, the diplomat subsequently clarified that he did not intend to trivialise the relation by likening it to 'saas bahu' and even apologised.

"My intention was not to trivialise anything. There is no harm in saying difficult things in a lighter vein. My intention was not to trivialise, but if you think that way, I apologise," he said.