Indian-Pak Tension: Pakistan said it is sending its envoy Sohail Mahmood back to India (File Photo)
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said today that Islamabad is sending its envoy back to India and is ready to engage with New Delhi to reduce tensions.
"Pakistan has decided to send back the Pakistani high commissioner to New Delhi (Sohail Mahmood)," Mr Qureshi.
Pakistan had called its envoy back to Islamabad for urgent consultations in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed or JeM which left more than 40 soldiers dead. Islamabad took the step after India called back its envoy Ajay Bisaria to New Delhi.
After the Pulwama terror attack, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation as a "non-military, Pre-emptive" strike, hitting a JeM terror camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26.
The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force, while losing an F-16 jet of their own. Pakistan also detained the MiG-21 pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India on Friday.
The Pakistani foreign minister also thanked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his role in the current situation with India. "I did not want to say it but private diplomacy worked," he said.
"US through private diplomacy played a role in de-escalating tensions between Pakistan and India," he said.