Indo-Pak issues purely bilateral, no scope for third country interference: Government on Chinese envoy's remarks

India-Pakistan relations are purely bilateral in nature and there was no scope for the involvement of a third country, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Monday, reacting to Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui's suggestion of a trilateral cooperation between India, Pakistan and China.

"Matters related to India-Pakistan relations are purely bilateral in nature and have no scope for an involvement of any third country," Kumar said, terming Luo’s remarks as his “personal opinion”.

During a keynote address on 'Beyond Wuhan: How Far and Fast can China-India Relations Go' in New Delhi, the Chinese ambassador had suggested a trilateral cooperation comprising India, China and Pakistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

"Security cooperation is one of the three pillars of the SCO. Some Indian friends suggested that China, India and Pakistan may have some kind of trilateral cooperation under the SCO," he had said.

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Reacting sharply to the Chinese envoy’s remarks, India’s Opposition Congress party had dismissed the suggestion saying that India-Pakistan issues should be resolved bilaterally.

“We hope the government of India will also condemn his statement. Our stand has been that issues between India and Pakistan be solved bilaterally,” Congress leader Manish Tiwari had said.