Pakistan invites India for talks on Jammu and Kashmir

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has invited his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to Islamabad for talks on the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

Chaudhry on Monday afternoon called in Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale and handed over a letter addressed to his Indian counterpart, inviting him to visit Pakistan for talks on Jammu and Kashmir, which he termed "the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan", said the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement issued here.

Pakistan's invitation came days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's statement that Pakistan is planning to invite India for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue.

Briefing reporters on the Envoys Conference recently, Aziz said, "As for India, the Envoys Conference noted that India's policy of not engaging in a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan was not conducive for peace in South Asia. In this regard, Pakistan should invite India for a dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir. Our Foreign Secretary would formally be writing to his counterpart in this regard."

However, India has already rejected Pakistan's invitation to hold talks on Jammu and Kashmir.

Responding to Aziz's statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said India would welcome a dialogue on contemporary and relevant issues in India-Pakistan relations.

Elaborating on contemporary and relevant issues, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "At this time, they include a stoppage of Pakistani support for cross-border terrorism, infiltration of terrorists like Bahadur Ali, incitement to violence and terrorism across the border, parading of internationally recognised terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin, and sincere follow up on the Mumbai attack trial and the Pathankot attack investigation in Pakistan.