Modi ready for dialogue with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in a letter written to PM Imran Khan indicated the beginning of talks between the two countries, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told media Monday.

The foreign minister was addressing media after assuming office following the oath taking earlier today.

Terming ties with New Dehli important, Qureshi said we need to have a ‘continued and uninterrupted dialogue with India’.

“I want to tell the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj that we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers and cannot afford adventurism."

Peace is the only way forward. Kashmir dispute is a reality that we both acknowledge, he added.

There are signs of thaw in Pak-India ties since July 27 when Imran Khan in his victory speech after winning July 25 polls stated that if India move one step forward we will move two.

Later, PM Modi telephoned Khan and congratulated him on his party’s win. Following the congratulatory call, High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria called on the PTI Chairman at his Banigala residence and presented a bat signed by the Indian cricket team.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a brief chat with Navjot Singh Sidhu at the oath-taking ceremony on Saturday, had told the Indian cricketer that Pakistan wants peace.

The COAS, he said, has a desire to open border at Kartarpura for the Sikh pilgrims visiting Nankana Sahib to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.