Pakistan welcomes India dialogue calls

Pakistan’s Foreign Office used its weekly briefing on May 14 to send two messages at once. Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi welcomed recent calls from Indian political and strategic figures for talks with Pakistan, calling those voices a “positive development,” while stopping short of treating them as a policy shift by New Delhi. In the same briefing, he pointed back to a May 12 official statement rejecting claims that Iranian aircraft in Pakistan were linked to any military role. The pairing showed Islamabad trying to keep its India messaging open while limiting fallout from questions over its role in Iran-related diplomacy. ### Which Indian comments did Pakistan respond to? The May 14 briefing was triggered by a run of public comments in India favoring engagement with Pakistan. Andrabi said “the voices within India calling for a dialogue are obviously a positive development,” according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office briefing and local media reports. He added that Pakistan hoped “sanity will prevail in India” and that “warmongering” would fade. (tribune.com.pk) The Express Tribune said Andrabi referred to statements by Shashi Tharoor, former Indian army chief Gen. Manoj Naravane, former RAW chief A.S. Dulat and RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale. Arab News separately reported that Hosabale had said there should always be “a window for dialogue with Pakistan.” ### Did Pakistan say India has actually changed policy? Pakistan did not say that. (tribune.com.pk) Andrabi told reporters Islamabad would wait to see whether those comments drew an “official reaction” from the Indian government before reaching conclusions. The distinction matters because the public remarks cited by Pakistani officials came from politicians, commentators and former officials rather than a formal Indian government announcement. (tribune.com.pk) Andrabi also declined to comment on reported back-channel contacts, saying he was not aware of them and did not wish to comment. ### Why did Iranian aircraft come up in the same briefing? U.S. media reports earlier in the week had raised questions about Iranian aircraft at Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase. (tribune.com.pk) Pakistan’s Foreign Office answered that directly in a May 12 press release, calling a CBS News report “misleading and sensationalized.” That May 12 statement said that, after a ceasefire and during the initial round of the Islamabad Talks, aircraft from Iran and the United States arrived in Pakistan to move diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff tied to the talks process. (tribune.com.pk) It said some aircraft and support personnel stayed on temporarily in anticipation of later rounds of engagement, even though formal negotiations had not resumed. (mofa.gov.pk) ### What exactly did Pakistan deny about the aircraft? Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the Iranian aircraft in Pakistan “bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement.” It said the visits were handled through “existing logistical and administrative arrangements” and that assertions of a military purpose were speculative. The Express Tribune reported Andrabi used similar language at the May 14 briefing, saying Pakistan had already explained that the aircraft were in the country for “logistical, administrative and diplomatic” reasons and had “nothing to do with the military purpose.” (mofa.gov.pk) ### How does Pakistan describe its wider regional role? Pakistan’s official line is that it has been acting as a facilitator rather than a military participant. (mofa.gov.pk) The May 12 Foreign Office statement said Islamabad had acted as an “impartial, constructive, and responsible facilitator” in support of dialogue and de-escalation, and that it had provided routine logistical and administrative support while remaining in communication with relevant parties. (tribune.com.pk) The May 14 Foreign Office transcript also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been in contact with regional counterparts over peace efforts and regional stability. The transcript cited Dar’s May 11 call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, during which the Saudi minister expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts amid engagement between Iran and the United States. (mofa.gov.pk) ### What should readers watch next? Any formal statement from New Delhi is the clearest next test of whether the Indian comments cited by Pakistan amount to more than public signaling. Andrabi said Pakistan would judge the matter by an “official reaction” from the Indian government, not by commentary alone. For the Iran-related questions, Pakistan’s next marker is whether the “formal negotiations” referenced in the May 12 statement resume. (mofa.gov.pk) The Foreign Office said senior-level diplomatic exchanges had continued even though those talks had not yet restarted. (mofa.gov.pk) (tribune.com.pk)