Islamabad: Pakistan today (November 3) said it wanted to hold dialogue with India but was not "desperate" and hoped that New Delhi would not back out from its commitment to attend the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit in Islamabad in January.

"We want talks but are not desperate for it," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters, accusing India of making "fictitious" allegations of the continuation of cross-border infiltration of militants to avoid talks.

He also denied that Pakistan was resorting to delaying tactics to resume civil aviation links to block Indian flights from going to Kabul.

Pakistan insisted on guarantees in order to prevent unilateral action by both the countries to ban over- flights in future. Pakistan's stand was aimed at protecting both the sides, he said.

Both the countries have agreed to hold second round of talks to resume air links early next month.

Asked whether the SAARC Summit will be held in Islamabad, he said Pakistan had signals from the Indian leadership that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would attend it and hoped that India would not go back on its commitment.

PTI