ISLAMABAD – Taking federal cabinet members into confidence regarding the plan of action as tensions with India escalate, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said Pakistan is ready to hold talks with India on all issues including terrorism.
“Dialogue is the only way for peace and stability in the region,” the premier said, adding he had made an offer to India to investigate the Pulwama attack and hold dialogue on bilateral issues.
A twelve-point agenda, including the current security situation, was discussed during the meeting and the ministers of foreign affairs and defence briefed the cabinet members on Indian aggression and the efforts with diplomats and the international community to de-escalate the tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbours, the Geo News said in a report.
The cabinet members, in one voice, said the entire nation is united and ready for Pakistan’s defence. They also lauded Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in the wake of Indian aggression, the report added.
The cabinet also granted approved the decision to raise the issue of Indian aggression at the United Nations, OIC and with friendly countries.
Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian military jets on Wednesday, a day after Indian warplanes violated Pakistan airspace for the first time since the 1971 war, prompting global powes to urge both of the rival South Asian countries to exercise restraint.
One of the two pilots, who landed inside Pakistani territory after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down in a dogfight with PAF jets, remains in Army’s custody. Islamabad says it is ready to negotiate his return as per Geneva Convention if it leads to de-escalation in the region.
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PM Imran on Wednesday called for talks with India and hoped both sides could de-escalate. “History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation,” PM Imran said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. “We should sit down and talk.”
Tension between the two countries has been elevated since the Pulwama attack on February 14 in which over 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed in occupied Kashmir.
