Describing Pakistan founder Ali Mohammad Jinnah as a citizen of the sub-continent, India on Wednesday said the Jinnah House in Mumbai would be used in such a way that takes care of sensitivities of the region.
Pakistan has been constantly asking New Delhi to set Jinnah House aside for its consulate in Mumbai.
India said help was being extended to Pakistan in locating an appropriate place for locating the consulate in Mumbai.
"There are other issues related to it (Jinnah House). We want to put in use the Jinnah House in such a way that it takes care of sensitivities of all the people of the sub-continent," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters in Islamabad when asked whether the property would be handed over to Pakistan.
"He [Jinnah] was a citizen of the entire sub-continent," Menon said, adding that India would like to find a solution to the issue soon.
Pakistan has been seeking control over the sprawling 2.5-acre plot on plush Malabar Hill but India proposes to convert it into the SAARC House.
Menon said the Indian government was also helping Pakistan in locating a property in Mumbai.
A plot of land has already been shown to them for constructing the consulate. For immediate need, a house has been identified, he said, hoping a solution to the issue could be found soon.
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