Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif 'ready to talk' with India, brings up Kashmir, Indus Treaty during meeting in Iran

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday (May 26) expressed his desire to talk to India to resolve issues between the two countries. This comes as India reached out to various countries around the globe in a bid to expose Pakistan-based terrorism. The Pakistani PM said that he wants peace and is ready to talk on Kashmir, the Indus Water Treaty and terrorism.

Addressing a joint press conference with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sharif in Tehran said, "We want to resolve all disputes, including the Kashmir issue and the water issue, through negotiations and are also ready to talk to our neighbour on trade and counter-terrorism,” he said.

The Pakistani PM also said that Islamabad wants peace, but did not speak on his country's support to terrorists. "If they accept my offer of peace, then we will show that we really want peace, seriously and sincerely," he said.

Pakistan's PM Sharif also met Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. In a measured response to the India-Pakistan conflict, Khamenei in a post on X said, “We're pleased at the cessation of conflicts between Pakistan and India, and we hope the disputes between the two countries will be resolved.”

India says ‘terror and talks can't go together'

However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first statement after Operation Sindoor, made it clear that dialogue with Pakistan will be limited to the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.

"Terror and talks cannot happen at the same time. Terror and trade cannot take place. Blood and water cannot flow together. I want to tell the international community that if there will be talks between India and Pakistan, it will only be on terrorism and POK," PM Modi had said.

Pak PM's visit to “friendly nations”

Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif embarked on a four-nation trip this week to seek support from allied nations against India’s Operation Sindoor. He visited Turkey and met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In what is being seen as an unusual move, Field Marshal Asim Munir accompanied Pakistani PM as he held bilateral talks with the Turkish counterpart. The Pakistani delegation that also includes Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar will also visit Azerbaijan and Tajikistan.