Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Pakistan PM Imran Khan.

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India dismissed on Thursday as "fake news" the suggestion in Pak media that it was looking to resume talks with the hostile neighbour and asserted that there was no dilution of its position that Islamabad needed to take verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism for the dialogue to resume.

Responding to Pakistan PM Imran Khan 's congratulatory letter after he assumed office for the second time, PM Narendra Modi wrote back on June 12 expressing India's desire to have normal and cooperative relations with all its neighbours, including Pakistan, while stressing that "for this, it is important to build an environment of trust, free of terror, violence and hostility".

Foreign minister S Jaishankar also wrote to his Pakistani counterpart S M Qureshi, again only in response to the latter's congratulatory letter, emphasising the need for an atmosphere "free from the shadow of terror and violence".

The emphasis on the need for Pakistan to rein in terror as a pre-condition for re-engagement was in keeping with the stand which saw Modi refrain from engaging with Imran Khan at the just-concluded SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Yet, the Pakistani media chose to interpret the contents of the letters of Modi and Jaishankar as reflecting India's desire to re-engage.

The foreign ministry in Delhi quickly scotched the suggestion. "There was complete distortion and an attempt to peddle fake news (in the way it was reported). The letters only reiterated India's old position that it wants normal and cooperative relations with all countries in South Asia and that it was important to create an environment free of terror and violence for it. There was no mention of any sort of dialogue with Pakistan," said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, adding that India will not be fooled by any cosmetic action against terror by Islamabad.

Emphasising that both the letters were written in as per the "established diplomatic practice", Kumar said: "In their messages, they have highlighted that India seeks normal and cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan."

In his letter, Modi had said that India remained committed to operationalising early an "all-year-round" Kartarpur corridor . Touching upon it, Kumar said India had already held three technical-level discussions with Pakistan and was currently awaiting clarification from Islamabad over a few issues it had raised.

Puzzlingly, later in the evening, Pakistan's foreign ministry, which had kept quiet through the day, also sought to play down the speculation about the import of the letters. While responding to a question, the spokesperson said, "It was an established practice for the leadership to congratulate new office holders and for them to respond."

"Pakistan's position on the way forward in relations with India was clear and well-known and did not require repetition," said the spokesperson, adding that the "vision of peace, progress and prosperity of South Asia could be advanced by peacefully resolving all outstanding disputes, including Jammu & Kashmir, and moving away from dynamic of confrontation to cooperation".

Earlier in the day, sources in the Pakistan foreign office had said that Modi and Jaishankar had responded positively to recent letters from their Pakistani counterparts by conveying New Delhi's desire to engage with all countries, including Pakistan, for elimination of terrorism and prosperity of the region.

"India has always prioritised peace and human development, and sought to maintain cordial relations with all regional powers," Modi and Jaishankar maintained, according to FO sources.

Both leaders, according to FO sources, called for special attention on elimination of terrorism in the region and said the issue must be a core focus in all future talks. They have also appreciated sentiments from Pakistan in their letters, the FO sources added.

Modi's letter was in response to a congratulatory letter from Khan in which he had underscored Pakistan's vision of working for "durable peace and stability in South Asia with peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, including J&K".



In Video: 'No change in stand': India nixes Pak reports on talks