Pakistan ready to hold talks, if India is serious: Shehbaz

TEHRAN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his serious concerns over the recent grave developments in the Subcontinent – an obvious reference to the May 7-10 Pakistan-India war.

He said Pakistan was ready to hold talks with India on water, counterterrorism and Kashmir, if New Delhi showed seriousness. If it wasn’t the case, then he promised to defend the country like Islamabad did in the recent conflict, the prime minister made it clear.

FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE

“We are ready to talk for the sake of peace on the water issue with the neighbour. We are ready to talk to promote trade and also on counterterrorism, if it is serious.”

“But if they chose to remain aggressor, then we shall defend our territory and our country like we have done a few days ago,” the prime minister said while also calling for resolving the Kashmir dispute according to the UN Security Council resolutions.

Shehbaz was addressing a joint press conference with Pezeshkian in Tehran, as he stressed that the desire to have dialogue with India revolved around Pakistan’s desire to ensure peace in the region.

The prime minister said the two sides discussed a wide-range of issues, ranging from trade to security and described Iran as the second home to the Pakistanis.

At the same time, Shehbaz expressed full support to the peaceful nuclear programme of Iran.

Earlier, the prime minister reached Tehran after a two-day visit to Turkiye where he held detailed talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.