Islamabad / June,20 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have responded positively to Pakistan’s offer for talks, said a media report quoting a source in the Pakistan Foreign Office that appeared in Pakistan’s leading national daily ” Dawn” on Thursday
Earlier this month, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a letter written to felicitate Modi on assuming office for a second term, had renewed Pakistan’s offer to hold dialogue with India to resolve contentious issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and terrorism, to restore peace in the region, and address the problems confronting the people of the two countries. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had also written a letter to the newly appointed Jaishankar and congratulated him on assuming office.
The report quoted the source of the Pakistan foreign office as saying “the letters were received by Pakistan through diplomatic channels on Tuesday”, adding that “in their response, Modi and Jaishankar wrote about comprehensive and fresh talks between India and Pakistan. They said that India desires normal and cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan, adding that it has always preferred progress and peace of the people
“According to a statement by the Indian External Affairs Ministry, Modi said “it is important to build an environment of trust, free of terror, violence and hostility The minister also emphasised the need for an atmosphere free from the shadow of terror and violence”. The sentiments from Pakistan “were also appreciated in the letters”, the source is quoted as saying so .
The letters come on the heels of the first face-to-face interaction between the prime ministers of the two countries last week, which Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi described as a “courtesy” meeting. The foreign minister Queshi said Imran and Modi shook hands and exchanged pleasantries during their interaction onn the sidelines of the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
Soon after coming to power last year, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had expressed the hope that sour relations between the nuclear neighbours would become normal. However, a war-like situation emerged between Pakistan and India in February after a suicide bombing in Kashmir’s Pulwama district killed more than 40 CRPF men. India immediately hurled allegations of Pakistan’s involvement, whereas Islamabad strongly rejected the claim and asked for “actionable evidence”.
The situation aggravated on Feb 25 when Indian fighter jets conducted an airstrike on Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in retaliation of the Pulwama attack. The next day, two Indian Air Force MiG 21 aircraft were allegedly shot down by the Pakistan Air Force in Kashmir and an Indian pilot named Abhinandan Varthaman was captured. However, as a goodwill gesture announced by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan , the pilot was later handed over to Indian authorities. Pakistani leaders had on a number of occasions had expressed the view that Indian leaders were using anti-Pakistan sentiments to gain people’s support in the polls. Following Modi’s election win in May this year, the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan telephoned his newly elected Indian counterpart to congratulate him.
Last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had a chance of meeting the then External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two ministers and the highest-level interaction since the post-Pulwama standoff.
