“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will “forcefully” present Pakistan’s stance on the state-terrorism in Indian-held Kashmir at the upcoming session of UN General Assembly in NY next month, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday”. He also talked about the PPP workers, who were standing with the people of Pakistan in a unified and integrated manner to fight against any aggression from the enemy. “They are also based on the assurance given by President Musharraf in January 2004 that he will not permit any territory under Pakistan’s control to be used to support terrorism in any manner”, he said.
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The invitation came days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said in a statement that Pakistan is planning to invite India for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue. “I am grateful to them”, PM Modi had said from the ramparts of Red Fort.
The opposition in India has also heavily criticised the government, saying Modi’s mention of Balochistan undermined India’s moral high ground, vis-à-vis Pakistan.
In a response to his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry’s offer for talks on Kashmir, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said discussions should focus on cessation of terrorist activities in J&K and ending incitement to violence and terror in the Valley.
“Refusal by India to allow access must lead to a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Jammu and Kashmir as a part of its regular session in September, 2016”, the statement said.
“It is a sensitive issue and (we) can’t discuss it publicly”, said Hari Anupam, a senior official of Indian Oil Corporation. And this isn’t just India’s view.
In terms of initiatives by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), Jaishankar said that while other countries of the region agree, Pakistan has issues.
“Narendra Modi’s remarks, repeated during his speech on Aug 15, unnecessarily dragging Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir into the debate, have not helped matters on the bilateral front, or in addressing the unrest in held Kashmir”, the Dawn said on Thursday.
“Pakistan cannot accept equating the rampant human rights violations in IHK with the situation in AJK”, said Zakaria and added that the contrast between grim reality in IHK and AJK could not be starker.
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However, what prompted the comments from the Indian Prime Minister at the all-party meeting of August 12, as well as on Independence Day, was that he had received “various messages” from Balochistan that had “sufficiently moved him to share it with the people of India”.
