Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan could hold talks with India over the issue of occupied Kashmir if New Delhi meets certain conditions, including allowing him to meet with the Kashmiri leadership.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Urdu, the minister said Pakistan had no objection to holding bilateral talks with India and that it would also welcome mediation by a third party.
He said the talks could take place if: India lifts the crippling curfew that has been imposed in occupied Kashmir for nearly four weeks, restores the rights of local residents, releases the entire imprisoned Kashmiri leadership and allows him (Qureshi) to meet with the Kashmiri leadership.
But he added as a caveat that while Pakistan has never shied away from talks, he did not see a favourable atmosphere for negotiations from the Indian side considering New Delhi's oppression of the Kashmiri people.
"There are three disputes to this conflict: India, Pakistan and Kashmir," Qureshi told the BBC. "I think if India is serious it should first set Kashmiri leaders free and allow me to meet the Kashmiri leadership and hold consultations.
"I will have to assess their (Kashmiri leaders') emotions. [We] cannot come to the table for talks by trampling the sentiments of Kashmiris."
On August 5, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped Kashmiris of the special autonomy they had for seven decades through a rushed presidential order. An indefinite curfew was imposed in occupied Kashmir and elected leaders were put under house arrest. The clampdown is now on its 27th day.
Pakistan angrily slammed New Delhi's moves, expelling India's ambassador, suspending bilateral trade, and taking the matter to the United Nations Security Council.