India welcomes Pakistan’s peace talks offer

India on Tuesday welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s call for a “new beginning” in relations after deadly border violence in the disputed Kashmir region. “We welcome the publicly articulated commitment by the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan to seek a relationship with India that is defined by peace, friendship and cooperation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in New Delhi. “India is committed to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan through a peaceful, bilateral dialogue in an environment free from violence and terror.” The killing of five Indian soldiers in an ambush in India-administered Kashmir last week and the death of a Pakistani civilian in a shelling attack by Indian troops a week later have shaken a 10-year-old ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbours. India and Pakistan have traded blame for the violence, which included an exchange of fire between their two armies, dpa reported. Pakistan’s state-run news agency had earlier published remarks by Sharif urging talks to defuse tensions on the border dividing the disputed Kashmir region. “Let us make a new beginning. Let us sit together to resolve all outstanding issues in a friendly manner and in a peaceful atmosphere,” Sharif was quoted as saying. Peace talks have been stalled since deadly border violence in January.