Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif talks of 'permanent peace' with India: 'War not an option'

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has spoken about Islamabad's desire to have "permanent peace" with India and that dialogue is the way to go about it as war is not an option for either of the countries. He also said that sustainable peace in the region is linked to the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Sharif made the comments while speaking to a delegation of students from Harvard University. "Pakistan resolves to maintain peace in the region, and that sustainable peace in the region was linked to the resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the UN resolutions," he was quoted as saying during the interaction on Friday evening.

"We want permanent peace with India through dialogue as war is not an option for either of the countries," news agency PTI quoted him as saying, citing The News International newspaper.

Sharif also said that Islamabad and New Delhi should compete in trade, and economy.

The premier also held a discussion with students on the contemporary challenges Pakistan has been facing. Responding to one of the questions, the PM said that Pakistan's economic crisis is the result of structural problems along with political instability over the decades.

He said the first few decades since the birth of Pakistan witnessed impressive growth across all sectors of the economy when there were plans, national will, and the implementation mechanism to produce outcomes.