India wants friendly relations with Pakistan: Rajnath Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to the annual Amarnath yatra in South Kashmir, today said that India is keen to have friendly relations with all its neighboring countries including Pakistan.

As per an Economic Times report, Singh also said that Islamabad will also have to think about its approach.

"We made our intention clear on the day of oath ceremony (of Prime Minister Narendra Modi). If it were not our intention to improve our relations with Pakistan, perhaps our Prime Minister would not have invited the Pakistan PM to the oath ceremony," he said.

In his address to the media, Singh mentioned former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpai’s words and said, "AtalJi (Behari Vajpayee) used to say time and again that we can change friends but not neighbours. We also believe in that...

"There will be not let up in our efforts but Pakistan will have to think about it (too)," he added.

During his visit, Singh also checked the security arrangements in the state.
Image: indiatimes