NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Dialogue between nuclear foes India and Pakistan is the best option to resolve the many issues straining bilateral ties, Pakistani officials said Friday.
Indian and Pakistani officials on Thursday in New Delhi had their first high-level talks since militants with Lashkar-e-Toiba stormed several high-profile targets in Mumbai in 2008, killing more than 100 people.
Salman Bashir, the Pakistani foreign secretary, said he welcomed the opportunity to talk with his India counterparts on bilateral relations. Talks, he said, should not be conducted only for the sake of dialogue, Pakistani newspaper The Nation reports.
"Resolution of all outstanding disputes is vital for bringing lasting peace in the region and that's why Pakistan has offered India to sit and resolve all bilateral disputes including Kashmir in a peaceful manner," he said.
Islamabad complained Thursday that India was hijacking the talks by focusing on militancy and ignoring issues such as water and the disputed region of Kashmir.
P.J. Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, told reporters that Washington considered the bilateral talks a "courageous step" toward repairing ties.
"Now, the challenge is to build on this going forward," he added.
