Pakistan formally invites India to discuss Kashmir

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry on Monday invited his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to visit Islamabad for talks on Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan was called by Chaudhry and handed over an invitation addressed to Jaishankar, the Foreign Office said. The letter highlights the international obligation of both the countries to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz announced last week that the Foreign Secretary would write to his Indian counterpart to extend a formal invitation for the talks. He had said Pakistan would invite India for the Kashmir talks despite their stalled Composite Dialogue process. India and Pakistan dispute the ownership of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan holds the northern third of the state and India the southern two-third. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming and training the militants fighting to end Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan says it gives only moral and diplomatic backing. India-Pakistan ties have become frosty after largescale violence broke out in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8. On July 25, Indian authorities arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bahadur Ali in Kashmir.