ISLAMABAD, May 16: In a significant development following recent cross-border hostilities, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended an offer of talks to India, expressing Pakistan’s readiness to engage “for peace.” He made these remarks during a visit to the Kamra air base in Punjab province, where he interacted with officers and soldiers who had participated in the recent military confrontation with India.
“We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” Sharif said, emphasizing that any dialogue must include the “conditions for peace,” notably the Kashmir issue. Pakistan continues to consider Kashmir a central matter in bilateral relations, while India has consistently maintained that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “are and always will be integral and inalienable parts” of the country.
Sharif was accompanied to the air base by a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, and Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.
This was Prime Minister Sharif’s second visit to a defence installation in recent days, following the understanding reached between India and Pakistan on May 10 to end a four-day military conflict. The flare-up began after India launched Operation Sindoor during the night of May 6 and 7, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
As part of the operation, Indian armed forces struck nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reportedly eliminating over 100 terrorists. In response, Pakistan attempted retaliatory strikes on several Indian military bases between May 8 and 10.
India’s counter-response was forceful, with targeted attacks on Pakistani military installations including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian.
A day before his Kamra air base visit, Prime Minister Sharif had also visited Pasrur Cantonment in Sialkot, where he met with soldiers involved in the recent operations.
The offer of dialogue by the Pakistani prime minister marks a possible shift in the regional narrative, but the inclusion of the Kashmir issue as a precondition could present a major roadblock to resuming formal talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
