Pakistan has asked President Vladimir Putin to assist in resolving the conflict with India, Russia’s state-owned Tass news reported. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif sent a letter to Putin which was delivered through his special aide Syed Tariq Fatemi who visited Moscow recently.Fatemi said he handed over the letter from Sharif to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when the two met in Moscow. “We asked him to use his influence to make sure that India and Pakistan sit down at the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution," Fatemi noted. He also emphasized that Pakistan awaits any initiative from Russia that would help reduce the degree of tension with India. Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals escalated dramatically after the April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir that India blamed on Pakistan. The two sides launched a series of tit-for-strikes after India launched its “Operation Sindoor” on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Sharif previously made a “peace offer” to India during a visit to Iran on May 26, saying Islamabad wants to resolve all disputes “through dialogue.” India says there will be no talks and punitive measures such as the suspension of IWT* will continue until Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism. n18oc_crux0:00 INTRODUCTION‘PAKISTAN WANTED INDIA ON ITS KNEES IN 48 HOURS, FOLDED UP IN 8 HOURS’FORMER PAK FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR ISI-RAW COLLABORATION
