Pakistan PM Sharif reaffirms his willingness to talk with India on all issues
Islamabad, Jun 20 (PTI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday reaffirmed Pakistan's willingness to talk with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, the Indus Water Treaty, trade and counter-terrorism.
He conveyed this during a telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a statement posted by the state-run Pakistan Television on X.
During their warm and cordial conversation, the Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to US President Donald Trump, it said. He praised the President for his bold leadership and appreciated Secretary Rubio's proactive diplomacy that "played a pivotal role in helping Pakistan and India to arrive at a ceasefire understanding".
Sharif said that President Trump's positive statements about Pakistan are most encouraging for a durable peace in South Asia, which can only be made possible by initiating meaningful dialogue between Pakistan and India.
“In this context, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s willingness for talks with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, the Indus Water Treaty, trade and counter-terrorism,” the state-run PTV said.
India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.
The situation in the Middle East, particularly the Iran-Israel crisis, was also discussed, where the Prime Minister emphasized the need to find a peaceful resolution to this grave crisis, through dialogue and diplomacy.
He said Pakistan is ready to play a constructive role in any effort for peace in the current situation, which is deeply worrying, not only for the region but for the entire world.
While recalling President Trump's focus on trade, Sharif said Pakistan and the US need to work together to advance mutually beneficial cooperation across a wide range of areas, including trade, investment, energy, mining, rare earth metals, and IT.
On security and counter-terrorism, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan's resolve to deal with the menace of terrorism from the entire country, particularly the threat from militant groups.
Rubio appreciated Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts and assured Pakistan of full cooperation by the United States in countering all such threats, the channel said.
He also appreciated Pakistan's resolve to uphold the ceasefire understanding with India, as well as its sustained efforts for peace in the region.
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Two officials booked in UP; for showing elderly man dead, missing file
Ballia (UP) (PTI): Police registered separate cases against a village development officer and an assistant accountant for showing an elderly dead and disposing of a file related to documents of staff, respectively, an official said on Thursday.
In the first case, an FIR has been lodged at Bhimpura police station against the then village development officer (secretary), Savita, on charges of falsely showing an elderly man as dead during a verification, leading to the stoppage of his old-age pension.
According to police, a case was registered on Wednesday, based on the complaint of Assistant Development Officer Siyar block, Manoj Kumar Singh, under Section 198 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The complainant alleged that Umashankar, a resident of Govindpur Dubauli village, was shown dead despite being alive, resulting in the discontinuation of his pension.
District Magistrate Mangala Prasad Singh ordered the registration of a case against the verification officer, police said.
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Police are probing the matter, Rasra Circle Officer Alok Gupta said.
In a separate incident, an FIR has been registered at Ballia city Kotwali against Manish Kumar Ojha, assistant accountant at Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls’ School, Belhari, under Section 316(4) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The case was registered based on the complaint of the District Basic Education Officer Manish Kumar Singh, police said.
According to the complainant, the assistant accountant had allegedly made files related to discrepancies in PAN cards of some teachers and staff working in government-run council schools in the district go missing.
Police officials said investigations are underway in both cases.
