Amid heightened tensions over Centre’s abrogation of Article 370, that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was quoted as saying by the country’s media that Islamabad was ready for “conditional” bilateral talks with India.

Qureshi’s statement comes hours after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday, in a with European Union Commissioner ChristosSty lianides, said that India is willing to discuss outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.

Pakistan has been trying to gain global attention by raisingthe Kashmir issue at the United Nations. Recently, Shireen M Mazari, ministerfor human rights in the Imran Khan government had issued a letter to multiple UN officials, listing Pakistan’s complaints about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.Mazari had written a detailedletter to 18 UN Special Rapporteurs alleging massive human rights violations byIndia in Jammu and Kashmir after it revoked its special status, which shetermed as “an annexation by force and therefore an illegal act”.India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matterand also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.Following the abrogation ofArticle 370, Pakistan decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with India overthe Kashmir move. It expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria andsuspended trade with India.In a series of retaliatory measures, Islamabadsuspended the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express services operating betweenPakistan and India.

India has also slammed Pakistan for the unilateral decisionstaken in respect to the bilateral relations and urged the neighbouring nationto “review the steps taken so that normal channels for diplomaticcommunications are preserved”.

A day after the Indian government abrogated Article 370,Imran Khan had warned of “Pulwama-like incidents to happen again”.

On August 14, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had termedIndia’s move to revoke special status to Jammu and Kashmir a “strategicblunder” and said that the move will cost New Delhi “heavily”.

Earlier this week, a Pakistani minister had reportedlypredicted a “full-blown war between Pakistan and India likely to occur in themonth of October or November”.

According to reports, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed,while addressing a ceremony in Rawalpindi, said that the war with India will bethe “last this time”.

The rare closed-door consultations on Kashmir by the UNSecurity Council ended without any outcome or statement from the powerful15-nation UN organ, dealing a huge snub to Pakistan and its all-weather allyChina to internationalise the issue, which an overwhelming majority stressed isa bilateral matter between New Delhi and Islamabad.

France, UK, Russia, the US — four of the five permanentmembers of the UN security council — have endorsed India’s line.