Kolkata, Jan 13 (IANS) Denying any political instability in his country, Pakistan’s envoy to India Friday said there was a need to create a congenial environment to develop sustainable long-term relations with India.

“I don’t think there is any kind of political instability in Pakistan right now. Mutual trade with India is going on as usual. But there is a need to create a congenial environment to develop sustainable long-term relations with India,” High Commissioner Shahid Malik said.

“We are a vibrant economy and a responsible nuclear power. We are neither seeking nor will accept hegemony from any quarter,” said Malik at an interactive session on Indo-Pak bilateral trade organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce here.

Describing the mutual relation as “conflictual”, he said: “We need to think beyond concise political considerations. We need to use all our commonalities to supplement and compliment each other urgently before the rest of the world leaves us far behind.”

The high commissioner said the ongoing dialogue process was heading in the right direction and will eventually yield results.

“The recent exchange of dialogues between the leaders has been quite positive and we hope the talks not only continue uninterrupted but yield the desired results. We need to find out and redress the reason(s) for the persistent lack of mutual trust,” Malik said.

He also said that his country, in spite of giving the ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) tag by India, has not seen rise in exports because of visa denials.

“Our exports have not grown because of the non-tariff barriers put up by India. Our people are often denied visas which hampers business. However, with a new visa policy by Pakistan expected to come into effect by February, I hope things to improve,” Malik added.