Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to talk to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi over the telephone to offer him peace, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Thursday. Qureshi told ‘Geo News’ that if India gives priority to peace, Pakistan is ready for peace.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to talk to Narendra Modi on the telephone and ready to extend an invitation of peace. Is Modi ready?” asked Qureshi.
“We are ready for every eventuality. If they (India) give priority to peace, we are ready for peace. If they prioritise dialogue, we are ready for dialogue,” the Foreign Minister added.
The move came about as the international backlash grew on Pakistan. Also the fresh proposal muted by the US, the UK and France at the UN Security Council to ban Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has put Pakistan on the back foot. Even though, Pakistan has constantly denied the presence of Azhar on Pakistan territory, footage and pictures of the JeM leader are regularly emerging.
Qureshi also confirmed the receipt of India’s dossier on the Pulwama terror attack February 14 in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in an attack claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
“Let’s talk together on the basis of the dossier. I am ready to talk. You want to talk about terrorism, I am ready. You want to talk about peace, I am ready. You want to make it a common challenge, I am ready,” Qureshi informed.
The dossier handed over by India has ‘specific details’ of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan.
In New Delhi, government sources said that Pakistan must first take concrete and specific anti-terror steps when asked about talks with Prime Minister Khan.
PTI
