Pakistan to prioritise Kashmir, water issues in talks with India: Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the Kashmir and Indus Water Treaty issues will be among the key topics in dialogues with India.

In a statement issued here, the defence minister said that discussions with India will also focus on the issues like terrorism.

“When talks with India begin, two or three issues will be of utmost importance for us,” Khawaja Asif said.

Speaking on the Operation Bunyan-un-Marsous, the defence minister said that India’s arrogance of power has been reduced to dust, saying that India may not have anticipated Pakistan’s response.

“India will surely reconsider the misconceptions it had,” pointing out that India believed it could impose its terms on Pakistan by pressuring it.

The defence minister said Pakistan repeatedly urged India to investigate the event and provide evidence.

“Many countries were supporting our position on the investigation of the Pahalgam incident.” The minister further highlighted the damage to India’s credibility, saying, “India’s credibility has come under question in this entire matter,” and added that the world is acknowledging the failure of India’s military strategy.

He said that countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, and China openly supported Pakistan, while other brotherly nations also played a role in backing Pakistan. He also pointed out that many nations have stronger trade ties with India, yet supported Pakistan during this crisis.

Khawaja Asif said that despite having the potential to escalate the conflict, Pakisan showed restraint.

“We could have increased the momentum of war, but we chose the option to put brakes on the war.”

United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Pakistan and India agreed to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site following a ceasefire between the two countries.

In a post on X, Marco Rubio, who serves as the principal advisor to US President Donald Trump, said that over the past 48 hours, he along with US Vice President JD Vance remained in touch with top officials including prime ministers of both countries.

“VP Vance and I have engaged with senior Indian and Pakistani officials, including Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Asim Malik,” Marco Rubio said.

“I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site. We commend Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif on their wisdom, prudence, and statesmanship in choosing the path of peace.”