India, Pak should resolve issues through dialogue for peace: Pak diplomat

India and Pakistan should resolve all bilateral issues, especially that of Jammu and Kashmir, the diplomat said

India and Pakistan should resolve all bilateral issues, especially that of Jammu and Kashmir, through dialogue for durable peace and stability in the region, a senior Pakistani diplomat said here on Tuesday.

In a statement to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan Day celebrations at the Pakistan High Commission here, Aftab Hasan Khan, Charges D'Affaires of the mission, said, "On this occasion, I would...like to emphasise that peace and stability in this region is essential for development of all the countries."

Pakistan would like to have good neighbourly relations with all its neighbours, especially India, he said.

"For durable peace and stability, it is essential that we resolve all bilateral issues with negotiations, through dialogue, especially the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, which is also essential and pending and a long standing issue before the United Nations," he said.

Khan did not take any questions from the reporters on the occasion.

His remarks come after last month both the countries announced that they would strictly observe "all agreements, understandings and cease firing" along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and "all other sectors" with effect from midnight of February 24 and 25.

Earlier this month, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said India desired good neighbourly ties with Pakistan and was committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally, but any meaningful dialogue could only be held in a conducive atmosphere and the onus was on Islamabad to create it.