ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: Pakistan on Monday expressed the hope that withdrawal of troops from border would lead to de-escalation of tension, and stressed that pullback should be followed by resumption of talks.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing here, the Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, said after a high-level meeting Pakistan decided to pullback its forces following India’s announcement to the effect that it was withdrawing its troops, although there had been no official-level contact between the two countries.

He, however, emphasized that the important point was that the withdrawal of troops should be followed by resumption of talks.

Pakistan, he said, had always desired good neighbourly relations and resolution of all outstanding issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir through negotiations.

The spokesman expressed the hope that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be able to come to Pakistan to participate in the Saarc summit in Islamabad to be held from Jan 11 to 13.

Answering a question, he said there had been no suggestion from New Delhi for restoration of ambassador-level relations, saying it was India which decided to recall its ambassador earlier this year and later asked Islamabad to withdraw its ambassador from the Indian capital. Now it was for India to move for restoration of full diplomatic relations, he added.

The spokesman reiterated that the news reports about Pakistan assisting North Korea in its effort to build nuclear weapons were baseless and asserted that Islamabad never supplied any nuclear material or technology to any country, including North Korea.

MONITORS: The spokesman said the EU poll monitors had been making unwarranted statements on the election process. However, he said, Pakistan was satisfied that the EU presidency in a statement had expressed full satisfaction and appreciation on the way elections were conducted by the government.