Pakistan never shies away from dialogue with India, but it should be 'meaningful': Tahir Andrabi

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said that it never shied away from dialogue with India on any issue, but the talks should be "meaningful." Addressing the media, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi recalled last year's four-day conflict with India and said that in case of any aggression, Pakistan will respond with full strength.

"Pakistan has never shied away from dialogue with India on any issue... We have repeatedly expressed our readiness for dialogue. However, it takes two to dialogue, and for it to be meaningful, it must be a dialogue and not a monologue," Andrabi said.

On the first anniversary of 'Marka-e-Haq', the name given by Pakistan to the brief conflict with India, the army described it as a "defining chapter" in the country's military history.

In response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, carrying out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, eliminating at least 100 terrorists.

The action triggered a rapid escalation in tensions, with Pakistan launching retaliatory strikes, though most of them were thwarted by the Indian military.

The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting the military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.

“Pakistan Armed Forces continue to invest in critical capabilities, advanced technologies and professional excellence required to meet future challenges,” the army said in a statement datelined 'Rawalpindi, Midnight 6/7 May, 2026'.

Separately, Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that there were 10 "strategic consequences" of the conflict, the first of which was that the "Indian narrative of painting Pakistan as a source of terrorism stood buried." "Anyone who thinks there is space for war between two nuclear neighbours is crazy. That is madness,” he said while addressing a press conference where he was joined by the deputy chief of naval staff (operations), Rear Admiral Shafaat Ali and the deputy chief of air staff (projects) Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi.

Replying to a question on Indian arms buildup and force modernisation, FO spokesman Andrabi said Pakistan was keeping a watch on it. "In the wake of this arms buildup, Pakistan will ensure that our credible minimum deterrence is maintained." Responding to reports in some international media about a possible conflict with India, he said Pakistan always underscored the importance of diplomacy and dialogue in settling all bilateral issues with respect to India.

"We do not talk of clashes. We talk of dialogue and diplomacy. However, if an aggression, which took place exactly a year ago, is imposed on us, Pakistan will respond, and will respond with full strength and all means available,” Andrabi said.

Chaudhry said that the character of conflict has changed due to multi-domain operations, non-contact warfare, synergy, proxies and information.

"Now, war is not limited to borders anymore. It is on land, in the sea, in the air, in cyberspace … and in the minds. It’s cognitive as well,” he said.

"Our intentions and thoughts on Kashmir will never change, nor will the Kashmiris’ intentions and thoughts about us,” he said.

Air Vice Marshal Ghazi said that the PAF is "aggressively pursuing capability enhancement to retain its qualitative edge the next time it is put to the test." He said that 160 projects were under development, and a number of them were near completion. He, however, did not provide the details.

“They will very soon be contributing to the capabilities of the PAF in particular and Pakistan in general,” he added.