TEHRAN - Amidst the shrill rhetoric of war and retaliation, Pakistani prime minister has again extended an olive branch to India, saying he is in favor of peace in the region.

Imran Khan on Sunday said he advocates regional peace and stands by his words that if India provides Pakistan with ‘actionable evidence’ regarding the terror attack in Kashmir, he will act.

According to a statement released by his office, PM Khan said that Pakistan wants stability in the region and that PM Narendra Modi should give peace a chance.

The remark came a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Khan to keep his word “as a son of Pathan” and fight poverty and illiteracy together with India instead of fighting each other.

“In my meeting with PM Modi in December 2015, we had agreed that since poverty alleviation is a priority for our region, we would not allow any terrorist incident to derail peace efforts, however long before Pulwama, these efforts were derailed in September 2018,” he said, referring to cancellation of foreign minister level meeting on the sidelines of UN summit.

“Sadly, now peace remains elusive due to elections in India,” he added.

In a televised statement last week, Khan had promised to conduct an investigation if India provides ‘actionable evidence’, adding that Pakistan would retaliate if case of an attack.

Responding to Khan’s offer, India’s foreign ministry termed it a “lame excuse”, and asked him to “stop misleading the international community”.