Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of an "immediate" resumption of talks with longtime rival India amid rising tensions between the two nuclear neighbors over the lingering Kashmir dispute.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters in the northeastern city of Multan that Islamabad does not foresee the resumption of long-stalled peace talks or "backdoor" diplomacy with New Delhi given the current circumstances.
Qureshi said his country could consider the resumption of talks after India stopped its "atrocities" in disputed Jammu and Kashmir and reverses its decision to scrap the region's long-standing special status made in August last year.
India suspended negotiations after the killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a brazen militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in September 2016, for which New Delhi accused Islamabad but Pakistan denied the charge.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts but has been claimed by both in full since the partition in 1947.
Already fraught relations between the two South Asian neighbors further flared up after India scrapped Kashmir's special status last year.
Last week, Islamabad accused New Delhi of attacking United Nations observers in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and urged the international body to initiate a transparent investigation into the incident.
Pakistan has also put its military on high alert after Prime Minister Imran Khan warned India against carrying out false flag operations in Kashmir.
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