Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif signals readiness for dialogue with India

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his readiness for a meaningful dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues.

Sharif views on a dialogue with India were expressed during a telephonic conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, little over two months after tensions between the two neighbours escalated post the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister said during the conversation that “Pakistan is ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism”.

Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India took multiple punitive measures, including putting the 1960 vintage Indus Water Treaty (IWT) on abeyance and stopping all trade with Pakistan.

India also launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

Prime Minister Sharif reiterated profound gratitude for the Kingdom’s steadfast support to Pakistan during the recent standoff with India, Radio Pakistan said.

Earlier last month too Sharif had, while in Iran and in Azerbaijan, expressed willingness to hold peace talks with India to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, terrorism, water and trade.

However, India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said that the Indus Water Treaty will remain in abeyance till the time Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support to cross-border terrorism “just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: 'terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, and water and blood cannot flow together'.” Meanwhile, Radio Pakistan further said that Sharif and the Saudi leader also exchanged views on the rapidly evolving situation in West Asia. The Prime Minister said that Pakistan fully supported the immediate de-escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, as well as its peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy.

On his part, the Crown Prince thanked the Prime Minister for the telephone call and appreciated Pakistan’s expression of solidarity and support for the Kingdom, Radio Pakistan said.

Mohammed bin Salman acknowledged Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting a peaceful resolution to the Iran-Israel conflict, it added.