Col Avnish Sharma (retd)

Interesting diktats lately issued by Army Chief Gen Rawat include a radical shift in diet pattern of jawans and  selective ban on  golf. There is also a talk to do away with the Brigadier rank in a fresh restructure attempt.  The General is a well-meaning guy. His recent utterances might fulfil the former two objectives, but whether the third one meets his quest shall be debatable, since to us veterans, all three of his resolves may die a natural death.Puris and pakoras are a staple for our troops. My second-in-command,  an upwardly mobile fellow, during an eventless lull, trooped into my office. ‘Sir, don’t you think we need to transform the diet pattern?’ Now, that sounded out of the box. ‘Tell me, have we had health issues with the boys?’ I was concerned. ‘No, Sir. It may occur in the future and moreover, we need variety in the fare.’ I was relieved and gave the go ahead and forgot about it. The first one to observe the change was my wife. During a welfare meet with soldiers’ families sorely missing the pakoras,  when she enquired about their absence, the Risaldar Major’s wife expressed her woe, ‘CO sahib ka hukam hai madam.’ I brushed aside the predicament of my wife since the change was meant for our soldiers and the peripherals would fall in place with time.

The same evening, during a function, the CO of the neighbouring unit came to me with a concerned look. ‘Are there any disruptions in supplies of rations in your unit?’ ‘Not that I know of,’ I was sceptical, ‘why do you ask?’ ‘A lot of your jawans cross over to my unit for  breakfast!’ The second-in-command’s innovative move saw its end that very moment.Our GOC was a thorough professional, but somewhat eccentric. One saw him at regular morning walks but he despised golf, golf course and   golfers. To reiterate his conviction, he would often echo his conversation with a group of officers’ wives, who he referred to as ‘golf widows’— ‘We would rather prefer our husbands having an affair than play golf!’ Most of us were convinced that this dialogue was self coined.

Our weekly golf round was threatened when he contemplated turning the golf course into an obstacle course, when suddenly there was a pleasant buzz. His son, studying abroad, had turned into an accomplished golfer and was coming with his golfing friends to enjoy the exquisite course. Golfers in station heaved a sigh of relief when the GOC started echoing a fresh sermon, ‘Golf is an enriching game which exercises your body and mind. It has unmatched therapeutic benefits!’Prasads and we are long-time friends. Mrs Prasad is a diehard believer in astrology. An astrologer had predicted that her son, a young Army officer, would reach the rank of a Brigadier. With the proposal to do away with the rank, she is all set to lose faith in her erstwhile belief. Alas.

Kuljit Bains

Atal Bihari Vajpayee crossed the line in a bus. Navjot Singh Sidhu has done it on foot. As the former departed a world no less divided than he inherited, the latter took a step in the direction shown by his one-time mentor; the direction of peace in the face of obvious hostility. As with the bus initiative, Sidhu’s little excursion across Wagah can be seen as an anti-national act, or an undying faith in the strings that tug at the human heart. Either way, all arguments are semantics.What is, however, not mere wordplay, is the undeniable bond that the two Punjabs across the Radcliffe Line continue to sustain, even as it flies in the face of the narrative generated from New Delhi and Islamabad. Punjabis are simply unable to see it through the prism of history and past hatred; the violence, mayhem, and wars, which they suffered the most. That is because what they feel is present here and now. When a young Punjabi born in the Nineties, post-Independence, post-militancy, even post-Kargil, comes across a Pakistani, what strikes him is the absolutely same features, dialect, idiom, music, folklore. It is just so hard to bury the bond that it’s almost tribal.The past week of Independence Day, Vajpayee’s departure, Imran Khan’s swearing-in, and Sidhu’s walk churned up endless stories and reminders of the conflict between what our hearts yearn for and what realpolitik demands.The most visible sign of the gap was the Retreat ceremonies at Wagah and Sadiqi (Fazilka) border posts. Wagah receives droves of nationalistically motivated tourists, who are treated to a ceremony of aggression, if not hate. Far less known, but much more poignant moments are seen at Sadiqi, where thousands come each year to catch a glimpse of their friends or relatives across the fence, or Zero Line; the frenzied scan of faces to spot their own, followed by a desperate wave, and a shout. Till a few years ago, people were even allowed to shake hands, shed a few tears. Try explaining Indo-Pak ties to them.Exchange of prisoners on Independence Day may be an act of cold diplomacy, yet one cannot but feel the human tragedy we perpetrate in keeping people in jail for decades for no justifiable reason. The Tribune reported the yearning of 96-year-old Amar Kaur (Read story) living in Khanpur, Hoshiarpur, to visit her home in Lahore, and walk the streets of Anarkali Bazaar once before her death. A million such hopes flicker every day.On the other hand was the contemporary political posturing: attacks on Sidhu for hugging the Pak Army chief (despite the Vajpayee-Musharraf handshake); Dal Khalsa in Punjab seeking Pakistan’s help for the “Sikh cause”; social media battles over cricketer Imran and PM Imran. The cynicism, fear, and suspicion could not be better symbolised than the scare caused by mere balloons carried by the wind from Pakistan, bearing messages of “jeeve Pakistan”, that landed in some towns in the Indian Punjab.Punjab as a state can do little about how India and Pakistan ties develop or regress. But it stands to directly gain the most if a greater exchange of people and trade is allowed. The benefits of logistics and trade routes are only too obvious. The state, however, almost singly continues to serve the purpose of keeping the flame of a positive bond alive. That is essential because as and when we are done with hatred – which no doubt has to happen one day – we will need the seed of love to grow back what has been lost. Without that seed, it will be hard to jump across the huge time divide to rekindle the historical bond. Punjab is a repository of that seed.The battle is not about Vajpayee, Imran or Sidhu crossing the line, but about too few people crossing too few lines. If the Pakistani political leadership at one time could think up a “war of thousand cuts” against India, why can’t the people on both sides wage a war of a thousand hugs? Pakistan only sunk while inflicting the thousand cuts, and India suffered in responding to those. No harm trying the alternative.

Back from Pak, Sidhu brushes aside criticism

Faces protest outside Integrated Check Post at Attari

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 12

Even though the intensity of firing on the Line of Control (LoC) has come down and the International Border (IB) is witnessing peace, the ceasefire violation by Pakistan on the borders this year has been the highest in the past eight years.The ceasefire violations have also led to major casualties to civilians and security forces.According to official data, Pakistan has violated the truce agreement this year on both LoC and IB over 1,432 times, killing 59 security personnel and civilians.“Of the 1,432 ceasefire violations, the Pakistan Rangers have violated the agreement 490 times on the IB alone,” said the data released by the government a few days ago.When the data was released, the casualty count stood at 55. The death count has, however, increased with the killing of the four soldiers, including a Major, in the Gurez sector on Tuesday, taking the number to 59.India shares the 198-km-long IB with Pakistan in the Jammu region, while the LoC, the dividing line between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, is 740 kilometres long.The LoC is the most volatile border in the state which sees ceasefire violations, infiltration and narcoterrorism. The IB is manned by the BSF while the LoC is under the operational control of the Army with the BSF battalions posted at a few places.As many as 133 infiltration attempts have been made this year. Of them, 69 have been successful.According to the data, Pakistan had in 2017 violated the truce agreement 771 times on both LoC and IB and 449 times in 2016. The figure was 405 in 2015, 583 in 2014, 405 in 2013, 347 in 2013, 114 in 2012, 62 in 2011 and 70 in 2010.Around 30 people, including security personnel, were killed in 2017.Since May-end, the IB has seen relative calm and the intensity of firing on the LoC has decreased.Peace pact violated 1,432 times* Pakistan has violated the truce agreement this year on both LoC and IB over 1,432 times, killing 59 security personnel and civilians* In 2017, Pakistan violated the truce agreement 771 times on both LoC and IB and 449 times in 2016. The number of ceasefire violations were 405 in 2015, 583 in 2014, 405 in 2013, 347 in 2013, 114 in 2012, 62 in 2011 and 70 in 2010

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 11

One of the perks of being an Army man’s wife, according to one of them, is that you pick up little culinary secrets from every nook and corner of the country. “Even if one is a beginner in cooking, over the years you tend to become as good as a professional chef,” shares Geetanjli Kalra. One of the star chefs invited by the Hyatt to cook their special recipes for the Border Food festival, the festival celebrates the contribution of the wives of Army officers, who are unsung heroes of their lives.Donning the chef’s hat, these women created their favourite recipes for a fun afternoon. Adjusting their lives to the tough postings, the ladies admitted that their palate too has to adjust to a lot of moving around. “Sometimes, you are posted in places that do no have even a dhaba or you do not have access to basic things like fresh milk. For instance, Tenga valley in Arunachal Pradesh does not have any cattle so you do not get milk and are dependent on packed milk. Similarly, we have been posted in remote areas in MP where you do not have even a dhaba. So eating out is not an option,” shared Geetanjali. Therefore, your kitchen becomes your playground. “We pick up special recipes from every place of posting. Cooking at home becomes interesting as there are lot of flavor influences,” she said.For the festival, Geetanjali prepares chicken canelloni pasta, which she said is her and her husband’s favourite dish. The spread included Punjabi chole, gatte ki sabzi that Geetanjali’s fellow Army wife, Shubham Yadav made and Dal Makhani. The recipes will be added to the menu of border Food Festival as star dishes.“The Border Food Festival at Punjab Province will serve an epicurean spread of cuisines representing the border states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir in an ode to the soldiers guarding the borders at Wagah, Jaisalmer and Siachen. The menu representing the Wagah Border will offer delectable delights like Matka Gosht, Kadi Pakora and Aloo Wadiyan. From Jaisalmer, dishes like Dal Bati Choorma, Laal Maas, Gatte Ka Saag and Kachhi Mirch Ka Murgh, from J&K, the exotic bread-like Seermal, Roganjosh, Yakhni Pulao and Kahwa will complete the platter,” informed head chef Shiv Parvesh.“Army men’s families play a crucial role by wholeheartedly supporting their husbands and boosting their morale, for which they deserve a huge applause. Today’s engagement was meant to provide a platform to Army men’s wives where they can showcase their culinary skills and prepare delicacies close to their hearts,” said Suman Dutta Sharma, General Manager, Hyatt Regency.

The world is so used to hurtling from crisis to crisis that it rarely stops to think of the last one and whether the threats from it have passed or continue to persist. This understanding is best applicable to the rise and supposed fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Daesh. ISIS burst on the international scene in mid-2014, declared an Islamic Caliphate, employed the most depraved methods of fighting in its battle against followers of all other beliefs, including those within Islam, and acted as an established state with a defined territory, imposing taxes and even indulging in trade. Its intellectual capacity led to the creation of some of the most attractive online messaging of an ideology to draw recruits from all over the world, many of them from diverse faiths with an attitude bordering on nihilism. It ran an empire briefly with a political capital at Raqqa in Syria and an economic stronghold at Mosul in northern Iraq. In spite of modern technologies of surveillance, no international boundaries could hold back the supporters who flocked to it from around the world and the military wherewithal that ISIS received. It even sold the oil it produced from the captured oil refinery at Mosul and among its customers were nations with whom it fought.

ISIS fought as a state and in the conventional military mode against organised forces, giving battle at Fallujah, Mosul and Raqqa, even as the empire shrank. The last battle of the built-up areas was at Raqqa (Syria) or so we thought; it lasted through June to Oct 2017. Even as this battle was raging, a similar major standoff was underway in the Philippines city of Marawi, Mindanao, where ISIS fighters had captured the city and the Philippines Army fought a pitched street-to-street battle to regain control. Marawi was an attempt to establish an alternative base for ISIS, away from the humdrum of the Middle East and the Af-Pak region, both of which were under major surveillance and domination of adversaries; it would take far too long to establish in Af-Pak anything like Mosul or Raqqa and would need far more resources. Marawi was considered an interim alternative.

Now we learn that Raqqa wasn’t really the last battle to evict the ISIS which continues to exist in more than just a virtual state. The organised terror attacks in European cities may have ended and its revolutionary tactics of information warfare may have ceased but in the eastern Syrian city of Hajin, ISIS continues to exist; with a reported strength as high as 4000 fighters. It has switched its strategy from the conventional defence of strongholds and rapid forays to the typical guerilla style of fighting small. In the Euphrates Valley, a US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel fighters had battled this element effectively until a series of Turkish attacks against the Kurdish areas in the north in January 2018 forced the Kurds to leave and assist their own compatriots against the Turkish army. This diluted the campaign allowing the ISIS fighters to spring back. The US propensity to keep threatening the withdrawal of the 500 Special Forces personnel who act as the core directors of the campaign also gave ISIS the potential window it was seeking. Now a fresh campaign has commenced with the return of many of the Kurds, induction of French Special Forces and renewed support from US naval warplanes and the Iraqi Air Force.

What is ISIS attempting and why? Many of its fighters escaped the Raqqa dragnet and are still in the process of making their way to newly designated areas. These areas could be in Africa, Af-Pak region and South East Asia.

There has been no high-end success anywhere although the Philippines still continues to remain in focus due to ongoing Islamic insurgencies and the sheer nature of terrain and presence of hundreds of islands. ISIS is still looking for a temporary parking place pending establishment of a more effective stronghold closer to the Middle East. For its ultimate destination, ISIS is essentially on the lookout for a region/nation where there is disaffection with an Islamic colour, transnational border regions are weakly held and potential for turbulence is high; this is the environment it would thrive in. The closer it is to the Islamic territories of the Middle East the better it would be for its Caliphate-based ambitions. The ideal location for such intent is the Af-Pak region and north-west Afghanistan has been on the scanner for long. Two reasons for this have been spoken over some time: One, the existence of a lucrative illegal narcotics trade network and two, the potential of moving north towards Turkmenistan’s rich gas resources, both of which can finance the future ambitions of ISIS. However, the presence of Taliban and what’s turning out to be its surprising cooperation with Iran is still helping to keep ISIS at bay.

From Syria-Iraq to Af-Pak and on to Mindanao in the Philippines is a huge geographical expanse. However, many times the scans miss out another area which has emerged with serious potential for the kind of revival ISIS seeks.

This is the Myanmar- Bangladesh border. Bangladesh reports the eviction of a million plus Rohingyas, Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine province bordering Bangladesh, due to a virtual genocide-like campaign by the mainly Buddhist army of Myanmar. Refugees camped in an area near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in inhuman conditions, is the type of breeding ground that ISIS seeks. Bangladesh has also been subjected to ISIS influence and in July 2016 suffered a major terror attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery, Dhaka, which had a deep-dyed ISIS colour. This area borders India’s Northeast which has been restive for many years. There is a Muslim population on the Indian side which could be vulnerable too. With an active ISIS lookout for future potential zones with criteria which suits its strategy, the broad swathe of territory from Thailand to Northeast India bears vulnerability towards an ISIS perception of a temporary parking space and exploitation of the human capital from this region. ISIS efforts towards targeting the Indian subcontinent have not succeeded for the want of an effective operating base. India’s northeast must be prevented from becoming any part of that.

he author commanded the 15 Corps in J&K and is now the Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir. Views expressed are personal.

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 3

A 40-year-old Army man, Gavara Srinivasa Rao, posted at Kapurthala, has been missing since May this year. Neither family members, nor the Army have found any information regarding him till date.Interestingly, Naik Rao’s retirement was due in September this year. To make the matter worse for the Visakhapatnam-based family comprising his wife Yagana and two sons, aged 12 and 10 years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has even stopped Rao’s salary by reporting him as ‘missing from duty’.He was going to join his duty at Kapurthala from Visakhapatnam but allegedly got down at the Panipat railway station from where he called his wife.While the Visakhapatnam police had initially launched an investigation in the case, they claimed to have transferred it to the Panipat police in June.However, the Panipat police refused to acknowledge transfer of any case pertaining to the missing of Rao.“A police team from South India had come here around two months ago. They wanted to visit a few places. We provided all logistic support to them. The matter is being investigated at their end,” said SHO (City) Deepak Kumar.While the police of both states have halted the investigation to trace the missing Army man, Rao’s family has already landed in a state of severe financial crunch.“With no salary or other income, I have shifted to my parent’s house. I will urge the Union Defence Minister to kindly resume my husband’s salary till the time the police complete the investigation or else get some partial funds released from our Provident fund account,” said Yagana.She said she spoke to him last on May 8 at around 12 noon.According to his wife, he was going to join his duty at Kapurthala from Visakhapatnam but he got down at the Panipat railway station.“He called me from a local phone number there and informed that his mobile phone and wallet had gone missing. Later, a CCTV camera footage retrieved from the spot revealed that he had visited a branch of the State Bank of India (SBI), situated near the railway station, and withdrew Rs 5,000,” said Yagna.She added that another CCTV grab revealed that he had dinner from a local dhaba.“When I visited the spot three months ago, I was informed that he was last seen at a juice corner situated next to the dhaba,” said Yagna.While the Army releases pension benefits and other grants within a month of the retirement, it would not be able to do so in this case. Rao is at present considered missing from duty. With no effort made either by the police of both states or by the Army authorities to trace his whereabouts, the fate of Rao has almost become uncertain.2 months on, police, Army fail to trace victimWhile the Army releases pension benefits and other grants within a month of the retirement, it would not be able to do so in this case. Rao is at present considered missing from duty. With no effort made either by the police of both states or by the Army to trace his whereabouts, the fate of Rao has almost become uncertain.

The Army is 7,298 short of the sanctioned strength. File phtoo

New Delhi, August 1

The three armed forces face a shortage of over 9,096 officers, with the Army topping the list, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

In a written response to a question in the Lower House of Parliament, Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence said as on January 1, 2018, the authorised strength of the Army was 49,933, but it has 42,635 officers, which is 7,298 short of the sanctioned strength.

The authorised strength for the Navy is 11,352 officers as against the existing number of 9,746 officers, which is 1,606 less than the sanctioned number.

The Air Force has a shortage of 192 officers, Bhamre said, adding that it has 12,392 officers as against the sanctioned strength of 12,584 officers.

In response to another question on whether the government has received any proposal from China for a border defence cooperation pact, the minister replied in negative.

He said an agreement on border defence cooperation between India and China was signed on October 23, 2013.

“No new proposal for a defence cooperation has been received from China,” the MoS said.

He said the government has taken various steps to strengthen defence cooperation with China, including mechanisms to enhance military to military exchanges and ensure maintenance of peace, stability and tranquillity along the India-China border.

These measures include annual defence and security dialogue, exchanges at the level of border troops, border personnel meetings, meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation on India-China Border Affairs and agreements and protocols relating to confidence-building measures. PTI

New Delhi, August 29

As Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Arun Jaitley engage in a social media war about India’s purchase of 36 combat jets from France for an estimated Rs 58,000 crore, here’s an explainer to help understand what the agreement was.

What is Rafale?

Rafale is a French twin-engine multi-role fighter jet designed and built by Dassault Aviation. The Rafale jets are considered one of the most potent combat jets globally.

The UPA deal

India began the process to buy a fleet of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in 2007 after the Defence Ministry, headed then by Congress leader AK Antony, cleared the proposal from the Indian Air Force.

The contenders for the mega deal were Lockheed Martin’s F-16s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia’s MiG-35, Sweden’s Gripen, Boeing’s F/A-18s and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale.

After a long process, bids were opened in December 2012 and Dassault Aviation emerged as L-1 (lowest bidder). In the original proposal, 18 planes were to be manufactured in France and 108 in India in collaboration with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

There were lengthy negotiations between the then UPA government and Dassault on prices and transfer of technology. The final negotiations continued till early 2014 but the deal could not go through.

Details of the negotiated price per Rafale were not officially announced, but it was suggested by the then UPA government that the size of the deal would be $10.2 billion. The Congress claimed per aircraft rate including avionics and weapons was zeroed in at Rs 526 crore (As per Euro exchange rates prevailing then).

The NDA deal

During his visit to France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10 announced India would purchase 36 Rafale jets in a government-to-government agreement.  After the announcement, questions were raised by the Opposition on how the prime minister finalised the deal without approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security.

A joint statement issued on April 10, 2015, after talks between Modi and then French President François Hollande, said they agreed to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement for supply of 36 Rafale jets on terms that would be better than conveyed by Dassault Aviation as part of a separate process underway.

The statement said the “aircraft and associated systems and weapons would be delivered on the same configuration as had been tested and approved by Indian Air Force, in clear reference to negotiations and testing process for the Rafale jets under the UPA government.

The final deal

India and France signed Euro 7.87-billion (Rs 59,000 crore approximately) deal on September 23, 2016, for 36 Rafale jets. The delivery of the aircraft will start from September 2019.

The deal was finalised on the basis of the procurement procedure followed under the UPA government.

The allegations

The Congress has been accusing massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against the UPA’sRs 526 crore. The party has also demanded answers from the government on why state-run aerospace major HAL was not involved in the deal.

The Congress has also sought to know price details of the aircraft and how the rate per aircraft has gone up from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,670 crore. The government has refused to share the details, citing a secrecy clause of a 2008 pact between India and France.

Congress’ AK Antony, who was defence minister in 2008 when India and France inked an inter-governmental agreement on defence procurement, said the government’s claim that the secrecy clause was forcing it to not reveal price details of the deal was “totally wrong”.

The party claimed that Qatar had purchased 12 Rafale fighter jets in November 2017 for $108.33 million per aircraft (Rs 694.80 crore).

The Congress has also alleged the government was benefiting the Reliance Defence Ltd (RDL) through the deal as the company has set up a joint venture with Dassault Aviation to execute the offset obligation for the Rs 59,000 crore deal.

The party has claimed that Reliance Defence was instituted merely 12 days before the announcement of the Rafale deal on April 10, 2015. The RDL has rejected all the charges.

Under India’s offset policy, foreign defence entities are mandated to spend at least 30 per cent of the total contract value in India through procurement of components or setting up of research and development facilities.

On October 3, 2016, RDL and Dassault Aviation announced a joint venture (JV) in the aerospace sector, and a year later, foundation stone of a manufacturing facility was laid in Mihan, Nagpur.

Government’s response

Minister of State for Defence, while replying to a question in Parliament two years ago, had said the cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore but did not give details of prices of associated equipment, weapons and services.

Later, the government refused to talk about the prices. It has been maintaining that the cost of 36 Rafale jets cannot be “directly compared” with the original proposal to buy 126 combat aircraft because the “deliverables” were significantly different.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wrote a Facebook post on Monday, accusing Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi of “peddling untruth” and carrying out a “false campaign” on the deal. He said the deal signed by the NDA government was on better terms than the one agreed to in 2007 under the UPA regime. PTI

Islamabad, August 20

Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday extended the hand of friendship to India soon after taking oath by offering “uninterrupted” dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, saying it is the “only wise course” as the two countries could not afford any “adventurism”.After the swearing-in ceremony at the President House, Qureshi went to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and addressed media.Qureshi was the foreign minister from 2008 to 2011 under the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government when the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks took place. He was in New Delhi when 10 Pakistan-based LeT terrorists attacked India’s financial capital.The new foreign minister said Pakistan wanted to rebuild ties with eastern and western neighbours and create peace in the region.He said Pakistan wanted to resolve all issues with India through talks. “We need a continued uninterrupted dialogue. It is the only wise course for us,” he said.  The India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place.The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India’s surgical strikes inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The sentencing of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a military court in April last year further deteriorated bilateral ties.Qureshi, the vice president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, on Monday said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sent a letter on Sunday to congratulate Prime Minister Imran Khan and mentioned about talks to resolve issues.“I welcome her letter,” he said.“I want to say to Indian Foreign Minister that we are not only neighbours but also nuclear powers. We have old issues and we both know what these issues are. We need to address these issues,” he said.Qureshi said the two countries could not afford any adventurism due to close proximity.“We cannot afford any adventurism as response time is so short. The only option is to engage with each other. We cannot live in enmity and we have to accept that there are outstanding issues,” he said.He said Kashmir is an issue and both countries knew about it.He said former prime minsiter Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore and Islamabad and recognised the reality of Pakistan and the issue of Kashmir. “Whether we wish or not, Kashmir is an issue and both countries have recognised it. In my opinion there is no option other than talks to resolve it,” he said.Prime Minister Khan in his maiden address to the nation on Sunday said Pakistan would hold talks with all its neighbours to normalise ties as without it peace could not be brought in the country.Earlier, in his address after leading his party to victory in the general elections on July 25, Khan had said that Pakistan is ready to improve its ties with India and his government would like the leaders of the two sides to resolve all disputes, including the “core issue” of Kashmir, through talks.“If they take one step towards us, we will take two, but at least (we) need a start,” he had said.Talking about Afghanistan, Qureshi said he would make a phone call to the foreign minister of Afghanistan and also visit Kabul with a “solid message” that both countries had same destiny. “There will be no peace in Pakistan without peace in Afghanistan,” he said.“I want to tell people of Afghanistan to understand each other’s problems and bilaterally try to resolve all issues,” he said. Talking about relations with the US, he said there is trust deficit between the two countries but Pakistan wanted to have good ties based on its interests. Qureshi said the foreign policy of the new government would be based on interests of Pakistan and it could be fine-tuned according to the needs of the nation.He said that priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy would be “how we can change lives of common people through economic diplomacy”.“We will try to change lives of people through socio-economic development,” he said.He said there are enormous local and regional challenges but “we want to make progress on these issues”.“Some forces have been trying to isolate the country but it will not happen now,” he said.He said his government would build national consensus on foreign affairs. “I will follow bipartisan approach on the issues of foreign policy.”He announced that he would invite Opposition leaders for consultations before the next month’s UN General Assembly session. PTI