IndiaPakistan relation Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirms mediation by UAE New Delhi mum

Islamabad on Sunday for the first time publicly acknowledged the efforts being made by the United Arab Emirates to bring India and Pakistan back on the table of negotiation, although New Delhi refrained from confirming it officially.

The visit of External Affair Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the United Arab Emirates around the same time lent credence to speculation over the behind-the-scenes role Abu Dhabi has been playing to bring the two South Asian nations back on the negotiation table.

(The) UAE has sizable number of Pakistanis and the presence of Indians is even higher, Qureshi told the Gulf News in an interview on Sunday. Obviously, looking at the interest of peace and stability in the region, it only makes sense that the UAE feels that two players (Indian and Pakistan) in this region, who are estranged, should sit together and talk out their differences.

New Delhi so far refrained from making any official statement to confirm or deny the reports about the UAEs behind-the-scenes efforts to make India and Pakistan restart bilateral dialogue, which remained suspended since 2013.

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