ISLAMABAD, July 9: Pakistan said on Tuesday it firmly believed that the time was ripe to address all issues between Islamabad and Delhi through dialogue and withdraw troops from the borders to their peace-time locations.

Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan told a press briefing that Islamabad was willing to adopt the course which was “the only way” to de-escalate tensions.

In reply to questions, the spokesman emphasized that the danger of a flare-up along the borders existed so long as the Indian troops maintained their threatening posture against Pakistan’s defensive forces. Pakistan, he asserted, had taken all the measures possible to de-escalate the situation.

“Fact of the matter is that Pakistan has taken all measures possible to de-escalate the situation and expressed its willingness repeatedly for a dialogue as we believe firmly that time is ripe to address all issues, particularly the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, in a serious, meaningful and purposeful manner without further loss of time,” the spokesman said and added “this is the only way.”

Commenting on Indian defence minister’s statement that the proposal for joint patrolling along the Line of Control was still workable, the spokesman said that while a similar suggestion in the past had been rejected being unworkable, Pakistan would welcome if this and other issues were discussed across the table instead of proposing them in stray statements. Islamabad, he assured, would not like to reject any proposal out of hand.

However, he pointed out, Pakistan believed that the United Nations Military Observers Group, which had been assigned to oversee the ceasefire line in Jammu and Kashmir for many years, could be activated on both sides of the Line of Control to verify Indian assertions that cross-LoC infiltration was continuing. There could be no better way to verify the Indian assertions, which the spokesman rejected as totally untrue. India stopped cooperating with the UN group long time ago, he said.

The spokesman said that except for a minor de-escalation, there had been no change in the massive deployment of Indian forces on borders in a threatening posture which was a cause of worry as the deployment could lead to tragic consequences for the people of both the countries and even beyond to the entire region. Referring to reports of an imminent US attack on Iraq, the spokesman said Pakistan continued to hope that the situation would be resolved through dialogue as envisaged in the UN resolutions.