Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.
Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshisaid both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issuesfor the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistanreported.
His remarks came two days after Prime Minister NarendraModiThursday led his BharatiyaJanata Party towards a super-sized victory for asecond term in office.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulatedModi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peaceand prosperity in the region.
“I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoralvictory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progressand prosperity in South Asia,” Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu.
In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chanceof peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi’s party wins thegeneral elections.
The results of India’s general elections are verysignificant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine thecourse of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwamaattack.
Just a day before the announcement of results, Qureshi andhis Indian counterpart SushmaSwaraj on Wednesday exchanged pleasantries on thesidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of ForeignMinisters’ meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
He conveyed to her Pakistan’s desire to resolve all issuesthrough dialogue.
Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after asuicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPFpersonnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force(IAF) carried out a counter operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp inBalakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Forceretaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot,who was handed over to India.