Making peace overtures, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said he was ready to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as he conceded that it was not in Islamabad's interest to allow the use of its territory for terror activities outside the country.
Khan was apparently referring to India's stance that terrorism and talks cannot go together and Pakistan must take effective and credible action to stop providing shelter and support to cross-border terrorism from territories under its control.
"It is not in our interest to allow the use of Pakistan's territory for terror outside," Khan said during an interaction with a group of Indian journalists here.
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Khan said that people in Pakistan want peace with India and he will be happy to meet Indian Prime Minister Modi and talk to him.
"The mindset of people here has changed," Khan said.
When asked whether it is possible to resolve the Kashmir issue, the Pakistan Prime Minister said, "nothing is impossible."
"I am ready for talks on any issue. There can't be a military solution for Kashmir," he said.
He, however, said the gesture for peace cannot be one-sided.
"We are willing to wait for (general) elections to get over in India for a gesture from New Delhi," Khan said.
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On punishing Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, who is carrying a USD 10 million US bounty, said, "there are UN sanctions against Hafiz Saeed. There is already a clampdown on him."
Talking about the Kartarpur corridor, Khan said he was sure majority of the people in India would appreciate the steps taken by the two countries in building the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, a long-pending demand of the Sikh community.
The foundation stone of the much-awaited corridor was laid by Khan on Wednesday at Kartarpur in Pakistan in a grand ceremony.
"The India I know -- majority must be appreciating it (Kartarpur corridor)," Khan told reporters in Islamabad.
The much-awaited corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev - with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.
The corridor is expected to be completed within six months. Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
India had proposed the corridor to Pakistan around 20 years back.
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PTI
