Pakistan Ready To Talk With India: PM Shehbaz Sharif

Saying “war is not an option” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country to ready to hold talks with India to address all outstanding issues.

Sharif made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of the Pakistan Minerals Summit in Pakistan’s Islamabad, reported PTI.

"We are prepared to talk with everyone, even with our neighbour, provided that the neighbour is serious to talk serious matters on the table because war is no more an option," he said.     

His comments came amid continued strain in ties between India and Pakistan on a number of issues including Islamabad's continued support to cross-border terrorism and the Kashmir issue.

India has also asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will" always be part of the country.     

Prime Minister Sharif's remarks came as his coalition government is getting ready to face an election at the completion of the five-year term of Parliament on August 12.

It is expected that the National Assembly, the lower house, will be dissolved a few days before the end of the term to provide more time for the next elections.

He talked about the history of wars between Pakistan and India. The wars in his opinion resulted in an increase in poverty, unemployment, and lack of resources to finance education, health, and well-being of the people.

He said Pakistan’s nuclear capability was for defensive purposes and not for aggression. "Because if there is any nuclear flashpoint, who will live to tell what happened? So (war) is not an option," he said.

Sharif emphasised that Pakistan was well aware of the dark side of a nuclear conflict but India should also realise it.

He also said that relations would not become normal until the "abnormalities" were removed by addressing the unresolved issues.