Voicing its opposition to war with India in the wake of tensions following the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan on Thursday said a military confrontation would be "disastrous" for the region and advocated the need to resume the stalled dialogue.
Pakistan wanted to defuse tension and use existing mechanisms to dispel misunderstanding and build mutual trust with India, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told reporters here.
He said it would be "unfortunate if a military confrontation takes place" between the two countries.
"War or any level of military confrontation can have disastrous consequences for the region. Pakistan will not accept political or military coercion.
"Although we have made it clear that Pakistan stands ready to take every possible step to defend itself, we have counselled restraint and responsibility," Sadiq said.
Asked if relations between India and Pakistan had become hostage to the Mumbai attacks, Sadiq replied: "India has placed a 'pause' on the composite dialogue.
"Pakistan believes that sustained engagement and dialogue is necessary to allay each other's concerns. Breakdown of dialogue only works to the advantage of terrorists."
Replying to another question on whether Islamabad intended to issue a travel advisory in the wake of the one issued by India asking its citizens not to travel to Pakistan, Sadiq said, "As of now, Pakistan has not issued any India-specific travel advisory. We have been careful and responsible. We do not want to ratchet up the issue."
{{/usCountry}}Replying to another question on whether Islamabad intended to issue a travel advisory in the wake of the one issued by India asking its citizens not to travel to Pakistan, Sadiq said, "As of now, Pakistan has not issued any India-specific travel advisory. We have been careful and responsible. We do not want to ratchet up the issue."
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