KARACHI: The special assistant to prime minister on foreign affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi, said that Pakistan is ready to hold dialogue with India on all outstanding issues.

He called upon the members of civil society to continue nudge and push the leadership of both the countries to hold talks.

This he said while addressing a seminar on “Pakistan India Relations - Emerging Relatives” organised by the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations (KCFR) on Tuesday.

Fatemi recalled that it was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who took the initiative, when after taking the charge of the premier’s office, Nawaz met his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of UN General Assembly at New York.

It is a reality that Nawaz desires cordial relations with India, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, former foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said he has not lost faith in the common sense of the people of both the sides and things will hopefully move in the positive direction.

He also appreciated the premier for taking initiative to hold composite dialogue with India.

Addressing the gathering, former Indian diplomat turned politician Mani Shankar Aiyar said “Pakistan and India have very close human relationship and there is so much to encourage both sides to develop healthy and friendly ties”.

He was of the view that hard political problems between Indo-Pak should also be solved.

Addressing the seminar, former foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed Khan said Pakistan and India have to come out of the current mode of not talking to each other.

He said that Indo-Pak relations are extra-ordinary, which need to be understood and the aspect of human relationship between the people of both the sides should not be forgotten.

Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, Indian High Commissioner Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan and former Sindh governor Moinuddin Haider were also present on the occasion.