Kathmandu: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks with India but it is up to India to re-start the negotiations which were called off “unilaterally” by it.
“Cancellation of talks was New Delhi's unilateral decision,” Sharif said after arriving here to attend the 18th Summit of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The “ball is now in India's court for talks between both the countries,” he said amid speculation over the possibility of him meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.
When asked about the negotiations between India and Pakistan, Sharif said the question should be put to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. He said that India had cancelled foreign secretary-level talks, Geo TV reported.
India and Pakistan have been involved in a war of words after New Delhi cancelled a Foreign Secretary-level meeting in August after Pakistan's envoy in India met Kashmiri separatists ahead of the talks.
Sharif said the SAARC had not made significant progress even after 30 years of its formation while European Union and other regional organisations have come a long way.
