India on Thursday rejected a Pakistani media report claiming New Delhi is ready for talks with Islamabad, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made no such reference in their response to congratulatory messages from their counterparts in that country.
A report in the Express Tribune on Thursday claimed thatModi and Jaishankar responded to Islamabad’s renewed call for dialogue byconveying New Delhi’s desire to engage with all countries, including Pakistan,for the prosperity of the region.
Responding to the queries regarding the replies tocongratulatory messages by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and ForeignMinister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ministry of External Affairs SpokespersonRaveesh Kumar said: “As per the established diplomatic practice, PM andEAM have responded to the congratulatory messages received from theircounterparts in Pakistan.”
In their messages, they have highlighted that India seeksnormal and cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan, hesaid.
Asked if there was any reference to holding talks in theletters, the MEA said there was no such reference.
Prime Minister Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Khanexchanged pleasantries last week during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) summit in Bishkek.
It is also learnt that Khan congratulated Modi on hiselection victory during their first face-to-face interaction, which took placein the Leaders’ Lounge at the SCO venue.
However, there was no meeting between the two leaders.
The exchange of pleasantries came more than two weeks afterKhan and Qureshi wrote separate letters to their Indian counterparts, pushingfor restarting the bilateral talks.
India has not been engaging with Pakistan since a militantattack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January 2016.
Khan also made a telephone call to Modi on May 26 andexpressed his desire to work together for the betterment of people of the twocountries.On his part, Modi said creating trust and anenvironment free of violence and terrorism was essential for fostering peaceand prosperity in the region.