ISLAMABAD: India on Thursday formally rejected Pakistan’s proposal to hold exclusive talks on the issue of Kashmir and said it will only discuss the issue of terrorism and alleged infiltration of militants with Pakistan. India’s Secretary for External Affairs SJ Shankar wrote a letter to Islamabad, in which it was mentioned that “India would not hold dialogue with Pakistan over Kashmir issue”. Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Gotam Bambawale handed over the letter to Foreign Affairs Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry. Earlier this month, the foreign affairs secretary wrote a letter to his Indian counterpart Shankar, inviting him to visit Islamabad to hold bilateral talks on the disputed territory. “India has rejected the proposal saying that it would only hold talks with Pakistan on terrorism and the alleged infiltration of militants from the Line of Control (LoC),” said the Foreign Office. “Suitable response would be delivered to New Delhi after thorough consultations,” said the officials in Islamabad. The letter written by Pakistan had highlighted the international obligation of both countries to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council. The offer by Pakistan was made despite the Independence Day speech of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he spoke about alleged human rights abuses in Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. On August 12, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had offered a dedicated dialogue to India on Kashmir and observed that India’s policy of not engaging in a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan was not conducive for peace in South Asia. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan believes in “result-oriented, sustainable dialogue” with India, and Kashmir issue would remain a priority. “As a peaceful nation, we believe in a dialogue with India which is result-oriented, sustainable, and not fragile-enough,” the Foreign Office spokesman said in a weekly press briefing. Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan was constantly making efforts to find a solution for the Jammu and Kashmir issue and regretted that the dialogue process since last two decades could not make any headway. He that Pakistan was highlighting the plight of Kashmiris where death toll had reached 80 due to usage of brutal force. He also called upon the international community to play its proactive role on the issue. The spokesman termed the statement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Balochistan an attempt to create a diversion from the situation in Indian-held Kashmir. “India cannot divert the world’s attention from genuine and indigenous movement of Kashmiris,” he said. To a question on sedition charges against an Indian actress negating an Indian minister’s remarks against Pakistan, the spokesman said there always exist some saner elements and peace-loving people in every nation, and such righteousness was appreciable. Asked about the closer military ties between Afghanistan and India, the spokesman said Pakistan would not comment on ties between the two countries. However, he warned against attempts to destabilise Pakistan, saying that India should not use Afghan soil against Pakistan to create instability. On Pakistan’s efforts for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), he said the country’s stance was based on strong credentials meeting the required standards and its demand for a criteria-based and non-discriminatory approach. He mentioned that Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi was currently on a visit to Belarus and Kazakhstan to muster support for the NSG membership. On Afghan conflict, the spokesman said Pakistan reiterated the view that negotiations were the only viable solution instead of use of force. He said Pakistan would continue to support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned solution to the problem. The spokesman said Pakistan would be hosting 19th SAARC summit in November this year and was in full gears for preparation of the event. “We are looking forward for a very productive SAARC summit,” he said.