Pakistan is “ready, but not desperate“ to negotiate with its main regional rival India. This was stated by the country's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, quoted by “Reuters“, reports News.bg.
His words emphasize that there are no signs of warming between the two neighboring nuclear powers, even after the worst military clash between them in decades.
Last month, India and Pakistan used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of fighting - the most serious escalation in years. The conflict ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire.
“Whenever they ask for dialogue - at any level - we are ready. But we are not desperate“, Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad.
The latest conflict was sparked by an attack in the Indian region of Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. India blamed Pakistan-backed “terrorists” for the attack - something Islamabad has strongly denied.
Dar pointed out that Pakistan is pushing for a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues, including water resources, while India is insisting that the talks focus solely on terrorism.
“This is not appropriate. No one is more serious than us in the fight against terrorism. "But it takes two to tango," Dar said, responding to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's comments that the dialogue should focus entirely on the issue of terrorism.
New Delhi had earlier said that "terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand."
Pakistan has also expressed its readiness to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty. The agreement provides water from three rivers that originate in Indian territory and feed about 80 percent of Pakistan's agriculture.