Pakistan has offered to resume dialogue with India on Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and other pending issues and was awaiting a response, Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday.
The border between Pakistan and India has been the scene of bloody clashes between the armies of the two countries in the recent years. The current year has been the worst in terms of ceasefire violations as well as civilian casualties.
“Pakistan is committed to its policy of peaceful neighbourhood but India’s posture including its claims of surgical strikes and unprecedented escalation on Line of Control and Working Boundary are threats to peace,” Mr. Faisal said at the weekly press briefing here. “As responsible member of the international community, Pakistan believes in peace but at the same time our armed forces are fully prepared and competent to defend the country against all threats,” he was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
Mr. Faisal’s remarks came days after media reports said the United States was quietly nudging Pakistan and India to re-engage as the Trump administration seeks to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Dip in ties
The relations between India and Pakistan nosedived after the January 2, 2016, terror attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven security personnel were killed.
The terrorist attack on an Army station in Uri, the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army on terror infrastructures in PoK and the regular violation of ceasefire by Pakistani forces have further deteriorated bilateral ties.
The statement of Pakistani leadership eulogising Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani after his killing in Jammu and Kashmir in July 2016 further soured the relations between the neighbouring countries.
The spokesman also expressed concern over recent cruise missile tests conducted by India, complaining that Pakistan should have been informed prior to the tests. He termed them a potential threat to peace in the region.
