Want Constructive Engagement with Pak: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his new Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan that India desires "constructive engagement" with Islamabad but Pakistan quickly clarified that there was no offer of a bilateral dialogue.

Modi wrote to Imran Khan expressing India's commitment to build good neighbourly relations and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement with Islamabad. 

He also talked about a shared vision to bring peace to make the subcontinent free of terror and violence. 

Informed sources said in New Delhi that Modi wrote to Khan on Saturday, congratulating him after he took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Modi expressed India's commitment to build good neighbourly relations between New Delhi and Islamabad and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement for the benefit of the people of the region.

He expressed the belief that the smooth transition of government in Pakistan would strengthen people's belief in democracy. 

Modi recalled their telephonic conversation in which they spoke of a shared vision to bring peace, security and prosperity in the subcontinent to make it free of terror and violence.

In Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry denied that Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had stated that Modi made an offer of a dialogue.

"In response to a query regarding the controversy being unnecessarily created by sections of the Indian media, the Foreign Minister had not stated that the Indian Prime Minister had made an offer of a dialogue," the Ministry said in a statement.

"The Indian Prime Minister in his letter to Khan had mentioned something similar to what the Foreign Minister elucidated earlier that the way forward was only through constructive engagement."

here are signs of thaw in Pak-India ties since July 27 when Imran Khan in his victory speech after winning July 25 polls stated that if India move one step forward we will move two.

Later, PM Modi telephoned Khan and congratulated him on his party's win. Following the congratulatory call, High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria called on the PTI Chairman at his Banigala residence and presented a bat signed by the Indian cricket team.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a brief chat with Navjot Singh Sidhu at the oath-taking ceremony on Saturday, had told the Indian cricketer that Pakistan wants peace.

The COAS, he said, has a desire to open border at Kartarpura for the Sikh pilgrims visiting Nankana Sahib to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

K-Issue a reality, need sustained dialogue: Pak 

Meanwhile, Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said that there was a need of "continued and uninterrupted" dialogue with India, which was the only way forward for the two neighbours to resolve outstanding issues.

Qureshi, the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Vice Chairman, was sworn-in earlier in the day along with 15 other members from the newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's 21-strong cabinet, Dawn news.

In his maiden speech as Foreign Minister, Qureshi said: "I want to tell the Indian Foreign Minister that we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers. We have a lot of common resources. 

"Us coming to the table and talking peace is our only option. We need to stop the adventurism and come together. We know the issues are tough and will not be solved overnight, but we have to engage," he said. 

"We cannot turn our cheek. Yes we have outstanding issues. Kashmir is a reality; it is an issue that both our nations acknowledge... We need a continued and uninterrupted dialogue. This is our only way forward," the minister added.

Quereshi said the two countries may have a different approach and line of thinking, but he wants to "see a change" in how we behave.

"India and Pakistan have to move forward keeping realities before them," he asserted, adding that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to Khan, in which he has indicated the beginning of talks between the two countries.

Qureshi, emphasising the importance of fostering better relations with neighbouring countries, said: "I will try to bridge the trust deficit between Pakistan and other regional countries," the Dawn report said. 

He also said that Pakistan's interest lies at the very centre of foreign policy. 

"Wherever we need to fix our foreign policy we will fix it," the Minister said.

Qureshi also announced his plans of a visit to Kabul, saying: "The two countries share a future and geography, and we have to work together and begin our long journey." 

When questioned about the party's stance on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Minister said that PTI "supports CPEC".

Qureshi had previously served as Foreign Minister during between 2008-13 under then President Asif Zardari and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.