Pak wants result-oriented dialogue with India: Sartaj Aziz

Islamabad, Aug 7: Ahead of the first-ever Indo-Pak talks at the NSA-level, Pakistan today said it wants an "unconditional" and "result-oriented dialogue" with India on all issues of mutual concern, including the core issue of Kashmir.

"Pakistan wants a constructive, sustained, unconditional and result-oriented dialogue with India on all issues of mutual concern including the core issue of Kashmir," Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said.

He was speaking at the 22nd Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. He emphasised that Pakistan was pursuing a policy of good relations with all the neighbouring countries, Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement here.

Aziz said Pakistan had suffered heavily after 9/11 due to growing menace of extremism and terrorism but the present government has undertaken military operations to combat terrorism of all types. He said Pakistan army was successfully demolishing the terrorist infrastructure across the country.

The first-ever talks between National Security Advisors of the two countries proposed to be held this month come in the backdrop of simmering tensions following two terror attacks in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

India has claimed arresting a Pakistani for launching attack on Indian forces in Kashmir though Islamabad has denied that the attacks were perpetrated by terrorists who had infiltrated from its territory.

Earlier, the two countries had exchanged a war of words over a "spy" drone which Pakistan alleged was being used by India for aerial photography near the Line of Control (LoC), a claim dismissed by New Delhi. India has proposed August 23-24 for the meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Aziz in New Delhi though the dated have not been finalised yet.

PTI