ISLAMABAD: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has said the kingdom was willing to mediate to set up talks between India and Pakistan, but the timing would be up to the arch-foes to decide.
The statement came during an interview to India’s The Hindu newspaper while the Saudi foreign minister was on a two-day visit to New Delhi.
India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors, both control parts of the disputed region of Kashmir but claim it in full. In 2019, India withdrew Indian-administered Kashmir’s autonomy in order to tighten its grip over the territory, sparking outrage in Pakistan, the downgrading of diplomatic ties and the suspension of bilateral trade.
Pakistan’s government has repeatedly said India would have to first reverse its 2019 steps for any normalization process to begin.
Responding to a question about whether Saudi Arabia was disappointed that talks had not restarted between Pakistan and India, Prince Farhan said: 
“We will always provide our good offices when we can, but it’s up to India and Pakistan to decide when the time is right.”
He said as Kashmir continued to remain a dispute between the two countries, “we would encourage [is] that there should be a focus on a path of dialogue and discussion among India and Pakistan to resolve these issues in a way that can settle these concerns permanently.”
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. Pakistan accuses India of rights violations in Kashmir, and India says Pakistan supports militants in its part of the region. Both deny the charges.
In February this year, the militaries of India and Pakistan said in a rare joint statement that they had agreed to observe a cease-fire along the border in Kashmir, after exchanging fire hundreds of times in recent months.
In April, the United Arab Emirates’ envoy to Washington confirmed the Gulf state was mediating between India and Pakistan to help the rivals reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.