Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said Islamabad was willing to work with New Delhi and global partners to counter “terrorism,” as his country’s fragile ceasefire with India continues to hold after last week’s armed conflict.
India fired missiles into what it says were “terrorist” camps in Pakistan last Wednesday, stoking tensions between the two neighbors. India targeted Pakistani cities in Azad Kashmir and Punjab after weeks of tensions over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, while Islamabad denied involvement.
Pakistan said it downed five Indian fighter jets last Wednesday and conducted retaliatory strikes on Saturday. Hours later, US President Donald Trump announced both sides had agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Washington.
India accuses Pakistan of sheltering militants that launch attacks on its soil, especially in the part of the disputed Kashmir territory that New Delhi has occupied. Pakistan denies the allegations and urges Delhi to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination.
“I think we can work together because if they [Indian authorities] are so allergic not to work together against this [terrorism] menace, we can have two, three more partners,” Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, told BBC News Hindi.
Dar did not elaborate on which countries he meant when he said “partners.”
“Global partners to deal with it,” the minister added.
He pointed out that Pakistan had suffered from militant attacks and was a “frontline ally” in the so-called War on Terror.
“We have lost 90,000 people but then it takes two to tango,” he continued. “We have to work together to eliminate the menace of terrorism.”