India rejected Pakistan’s proposal for foreign secretary-level talks on Kashmir, asserting that terror remains the core concern and there was a need to talk about that.
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“We have also conveyed that Government of India rejects in their entirety the self-serving allegations regarding the situation in J&K, which is an integral part of India where Pakistan has no locus standi”, the sources added.
The Jammu and Kashmir issue has led to frostiness in ties between the neighbours, especially with Islamabad expressing open support for the current unrest in the Valley where over 60 people have died in clashes with security forces since July 9.
The human rights office wants its team on the ground in Kashmir to interview victims, witnesses and security forces and to independently assess the situation.
The response, which was handed over to Pakistan Foreign Ministry by Indian envoy to Islamabad Gautam Bambawale, also maintained that the neighbouring country has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in J&K, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to cross-border terrorism and infiltration.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said Wednesday he has been working to get observers to the parts of the disputed Himalayan region the two countries control since violence flared last month.
“Without access, we can only fear the worst”, said Zeid.
But residents of Kashmir say the shotguns have inflicted severe injuries and even blinded hundreds of people including bystanders.
The Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the statement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan and said Modi should first explain his position to the global community on the atrocities committed against Kashmiris and Dalits.
In a tit-for-tat escalation in the war of words between the neighbors, Modi said he had received messages of support from leaders in restive regions of Pakistan, in particular the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan.
India and Pakistan have been engaged in a war of words over the situation in Kashmir where violent protests have that left more than 60 people dead after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.
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Both sides deny the accusations.
