Pak PM Imran Khan writes letter to PM Modi seeking resumption of dialogue

In the letter, Imran Khan has also sought a meeting between Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: File/File photo courtesy: MEA India

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has proposed to restart the stalled talks with India in a letter written to Prime Minister Modi on September 14. In the letter the newly elected PM of Pakistan has called for resumption of peace dialogue between the two neighbouring countries. The letter has been written by Khan in response to the letter written by Prime Minister Modi to congratulate him on his sweeping victory of Khan in the general elections. In the letter dated September 14, the Pakistani strongman has said that his country remains ready to discuss terrorism. He also called for a bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries- Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly. News agency ANI shared the picture of the letter from its Twitter handle.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. pic.twitter.com/2FZRci3d50

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2018

Past few weeks have witnessed intense speculations over whether or not Swaraj and Qureshi will meet during the UNGA. Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mohammad Faisal has said it is "engaged" with India to facilitate a bilateral meeting between Qureshi and Swaraj in New York. This is the first formal communiqué from either side proposing substantive engagement between India and Pakistan after the formation of new government in Pakistan. The India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. The ties between the two countries had strained after Pakistan-based terror groups launched attacks in India in 2016. Khan’s letter has come at a time when several defence experts in India have dubbed Khan as ‘army’s puppet’ because of his links with army and are speculating that there will be no change in the country’s approach. Imran Khan had said in his victory speech that Pakistan will take two steps if India takes one for normalisation of ties between the two countries. India maintains its stand that Pakistan will have to make atmosphere conducive for engagement by acting against terror groups operating from Pakistani soil.