Pakistan did not request anyone to make India sit down for talks: FM Dar

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that Pakistan had not requested anyone to make India sit down for talks of any kind.
“Pakistan did not ask anyone to arrange talks with India. Pakistan is ready for comprehensive talks with India, including on the Kashmir issue,” he told journalists at Parliament House.
Talking about the May conflict between the two countries and the subsequent ceasefire, he said the latter was still underway.
The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came in May as the former, without evidence, linked the Pahalgam attack to Islamabad, which strongly denied the allegations. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes on Pakistan, killing at least 40 civilians. Both sides then exchanged missiles, which stretched over the week, before a US-brokered ceasefire had both sides agree to stop the hostilities.
Talking about the halt in hostilities, Dar said: “India had requested the US for a ceasefire. I received a call from the US for a ceasefire. I had made it clear that Pakistan did not want war.”
The foreign minister said that Pakistan had been suggested to sit down at a neutral venue for talks, to which he had expressed his willingness to do so.
“I had made it clear that there will be no discussion on any single-point agenda with India. We will discuss all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir issue with India,” he said, adding that “unnecessary rhetoric” continued flowing from India meanwhile.
He also said a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Pakistan was not yet scheduled.