Pakistan open, ‘not desperate’ for talks with India, says foreign minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is “ready but not desperate” for talks with India, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, in remarks that underline the lack of a thaw between the two neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades.

Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.

“Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate,” Dar told a news conference in Islamabad.

The spark for the recent fighting between the two countries was an April 22 attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism.

‘Pakistan renews its focus on Kashmir issue’

“That’s not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango,” he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism.

The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar’s remarks.

New Delhi has previously said that terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand.

Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan’s farms from three rivers that flow from India.