Pak, India must engage in dialogue to resolve differences: PM Imran Khan

Pakistan's newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan today expressed willingness to re-start the stalled Indo-Pak peace process and said the two countries must engage in dialogue to resolve their differences, including on the Kashmir issue, and start trading.

In his first direct comments on Indo-Pak ties since taking oath as the Prime Minister on Saturday, Khan said the best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent was to resolve the differences through dialogue and start trading.

"To move forward Pakistan and India must dialogue and resolve their conflicts including Kashmir," Khan tweeted separately in both English and Urdu.

The India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016.

The sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a Pakistani military court in April over espionage charges last year further deteriorated the bilateral relations.

The two sides often accuse each other of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, resulting in casualties.

Khan also defended Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is embroiled in a controversy after attending his oath-taking ceremony, describing the Indian cricketer-turned-politician as an "ambassador of peace."