ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that normalization of relations between Pakistan and India is vital for peace and development in the region.
In his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said that Pakistan will welcome any positive step that promote peace and bilateral relations between the two countries.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan on its part is committed to good neighborly relations with all the regional countries including India.
However, he added, that there are some serious issues between Pakistan and India which need to be resolved through dialogue process.
The relations between the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries have recently become even more tensed following a series of provocative statements issued by the Indian political leadership against Pakistan.
The international community has voiced its concerns over recent increase in tensions between Pakistan and India, and urged both the countries to take steps to ease tensions.
In a briefing in New York, the UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq said that the world body continues to urge the two countries to try to resolve bilateral issues peacefully and amicably.
The United States has also launched a diplomatic offensive to encourage Pakistan and India to ease tensions and resume talks.
On Thursday, at a news briefing in Washington, the US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that tensed ties between Pakistan and India should not make some entities feel empowered.
Prior to the news briefing, John Kerry held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while according to a State Department official, the United States is also in touch with the Indian leadership at the highest level aiming to normalize the relations between Pakistan and India.
