Islamabad: Pakistan on July 7 said it was ready to have Foreign Secretary level talks with India during the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Standing Committee meeting in Kathmandu on July 9, but did not want to sound "desperate" on the issue.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokar would be attending the special session of the SAARC committee in Kathmandu from July 9 and Islamabad for its part would welcome any meeting, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told a weekly press briefing.

Asked about chances of meeting between Khokar and his Indian counterpart Kanwal Sibal, Khan said Pakistan does not want to sound "desperate", but would welcome any dialogue.

"Our policy is that the doors are open...we would welcome any dialogue. We do not want to sound desperate. But the opportunity is there," he said.

On Indian media reports suggesting that New Delhi plans to begin talks at the Joint Secretary level, he said though Pakistan was ready for talks at any level, the level was important.

"The level is also important. We have seen some reports in the Indian media suggesting there would be joint secretary level talks. We think this is not serious. This is not a viable option.

"In the past, the Joint Secretaries have talked about minor matters, secondary and subsidiary issues. But they had never talked about substance, the core issues. An engagement at that level would be redundant and could be counter productive," he said.

PTI