Pakistan’s prime minister has reportedly responded to his Indian counterpart, and sought a resumption of dialogue between the two countries.

According to a report in the Times of India, Imran Khan writing in his letter has requested that a foreign minister-level meeting be set up between Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Khan's letter was in response to Modi's communication to him seeking a "meaningful and constructive" engagement as ties between both countries are in deep freeze with regular violations across the Line of Control. This letter comes a few weeks after Imran Khan had stated publicly that Islamabad would respond with two steps to India’s one to achieve peace between both countries.

There has been growing speculation in recent weeks if the two sides would choose to resume dialogue after Pakistan elected a new government in August. It was in December 2015 that the two sides had seen the last high-level meet take place as India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had traveled to Islamabad for a Heart of Asia conference.

But since then, India has suffered a terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase which links emanating from Pakistan and ceasefire violations along the Line of Control have been at a record high from Pakistan’s side of the border.

India has since then refused to meet Pakistan bilaterally or at any multilateral summit and worked to get it on the FATF grey list for its harboring of terror groups.

Despite Imran Khan’s letter, New Delhi will view this effort with a cynical eye as India has continued to suffer under terror attacks that have been planned and funded on Pakistani soil while the two sides have officially worked towards negotiating peace. Moreover, Imran Khan is seen as an ‘establishment candidate’ – he has been propped up and supported by Pakistan’s defence establishment and hence his outreach towards dialogue with India is guided by them.

It is a very real possibility that Imran Khan’s effort is an outcome of international censure and the U.S.’s withdrawal of aid as India has worked to show the world the two-faced game that Pakistan’s army and intelligence arm have played in Afghanistan and Jammu & Kashmir.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2018 06:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).