Not engaging Pakistan unwise,says PM’s envoy

Stressing the need for confidence building measures to ensure stability in the relationship with Islamabad,Lambah said,“We can defend against hostility,but instability in the neighbourhood can have unpredictable consequences.”

The envoy said India was doing much in this direction. “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken measures to improve relationship with Pakistan and a lot of progress is made… the ball is in Pakistan’s court. We will be willing to pick up the leads,” he said.

Lambah also stressed the need to better engage other neighbours. “We need to continue to engage all stakeholders to build a stable and peaceful Afghanistan,” he said. “Sri Lanka also requires our continued political and economic support to achieve a durable and inclusive political settlement… The process of economic integration of our neighbourhood needs to be enlarged and intensified…”