Dar’s remarks come as a renewed signal of Pakistan’s willingness to re-engage with India, following a similar statement he made in July
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that Islamabad is open to holding talks with India covering all pending issues, including Kashmir.
“Talks, whenever held, will be not just about Kashmir but on all issues,” Dar said.
The Pakistani leader made these remarks while speaking to reporters outside Pakistan’s Parliament in Islamabad, India Today reported.
Dar’s remarks come as a renewed signal of Pakistan’s willingness to re-engage with India, following a similar statement he made in July.
Back in July, during an interaction with the Atlantic Council think tank, Dar had said Pakistan was ready to engage on a wide range of subjects. “Pakistan is ready to work and cooperate with India on all fronts—from trade to counter-terrorism,” he had stated.
Dar also had stressed that the “ball is now in India’s court,” and Islamabad was still waiting for a formal response from New Delhi.
At that time, Dar had also called for a resumption of the composite dialogue process, which previously served as a structured framework for bilateral talks. This included discussions on Kashmir, cross-border terrorism, people-to-people ties, trade, and cultural exchanges.
However, India has remained firm in its stance. In response to Dar’s remarks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had stated in Parliament that India will not hold talks with countries that support terrorism.
He had criticised Pakistan for giving military funerals to terrorists, calling such acts a glorification of terrorism.
Singh had added that “dialogue is possible only with democratic and civilised nations, not those driven by hatred and religious extremism.”
“The language of terrorism is fear, blood, and hate, not dialogue,” he said, adding that “the voice of dialogue is suppressed under the firing of bullets,” the Defence Minister had remarked.