Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the Pakistan Foreign Office said Thursday, seeking to re-start the bilateral talks on key issues "challenging the relationship" including on terrorism and Kashmir.


In the letter dated September 14, the cricketer-turned-politician, who became the Pakistan prime minister last month, proposed a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.


"Building on the mutual desire for peace between our two countries, I wish to propose a meeting between Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, before the informal meeting of the SAARC foreign ministers at the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York," Khan wrote.


Pakistan and India have an "undeniably challenging relationship", he said, while responding to Modi's letter to him on August 18. In the letter to Khan, Modi conveyed India's commitment to pursue "meaningful" and "constructive" engagement with Pakistan and emphasising the need to work for a terror-free South Asia.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief thanked Prime Minister Modi for his "warm greetings" and best wishes on his assumption of charge as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The two ministers (Qureshi and Swaraj) could explore the way forward, Khan said, adding that the SAARC Summit in Islamabad "will offer an opportunity for you to visit Pakistan and for us to re-start the stalled dialogue process".  -- PTI