Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended an offer of talks to India, saying Pakistan is ready to engage “for peace”.
Shehbaz made the comments during a visit to the Kamra air base in the country’s Punjab province, where he interacted with officers and soldiers involved in the recent military confrontation with India.
“We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” he said.
India has reaffirmed its unwavering position on Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on May 13: “Sometimes, the Kashmir issue is brought up. The only thing that remains to be discussed on Kashmir is the vacating of illegally occupied Indian territory in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. We are open to discussing that with Pakistan. I want to spell out our position very clearly… the government’s position is very, very clear.”
India has also consistently maintained that Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of the country and not up for negotiation.
The visits come days after a ceasefire understanding reached between India and Pakistan on May 10 after four days of high-intensity cross-border exchanges.
Tensions escalated sharply after India launched Operation Sindoor on the night of May 6-7 in retaliation for the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. Indian forces targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reportedly killing over 100 terrorists.
Pakistan attempted to retaliate by targeting multiple Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. India responded with precision strikes.
While Shehbaz Sharif’s peace overture could mark a diplomatic shift, his condition on Kashmir — suggest that a breakthrough remains unlikely.
