Modi's 'congratulatory' letter to Imran Khan didn't propose dialogue: India

New Delhi: India on Monday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a letter to his newly-elected Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, congratulating him for his appointment.

In his letter to the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, PM Modi wrote that India is committed to peaceful neighbourly ties with the country.

PM Modi further said, “India is looking for constructive and meaningful engagement with Pakistan,” news agency PTI reported quoting official sources.

He also stressed upon the need to work for a terror-free South Asia.

However, the letter by PM Modi did not state anything about new proposal for dialogue with Pakistan, highly-placed government sources told news agency ANI.

The reaction came shortly after the newly-appointed Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to Imran Khan and indicated beginning of talks between the two countries.

Addressing his maiden conference as the foreign minister of Pakistan, Qureshi said: “India and Pakistan have to move forward keeping realities before them.”

Qureshi also stressed on the need for “continued” and “uninterrupted” dialogue with India, saying that both the countries “cannot afford adventurism”.

“There is a need for continued and uninterrupted dialogue with India. We are neighbours. We have long-standing issues; both of us know these problems. But we have no other option but to engage in dialogue. We cannot afford adventurism,” Qureshi said.

The foreign minister also spoke on the Kashmir issue, saying both the countries should “face the realities”.

“These issues are complicated and we may face hurdles in resolving them, but we must engage. We will have to admit that we are facing problems, we must admit that Kashmir is a reality. The Islamabad declaration is a part of our history,” he added.

In his maiden address to the nation after being sworn-in as the prime minister, Imran Khan said that Pakistan will work to have “best relations with all neighbours”.

“I have talked to all neighbours and Insha-Allah, we will improve relations with all neighbours. With peace (with neighbours) we cannot bring peace in Pakistan,” Imran Khan said.