Modi in his speech on August 15, India’s Independence Day, said “people of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) have thanked me a lot in past few days, I am grateful to them”.
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“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is going to take this issue very forcefully at the United Nations platform”, Nafees Zakaria, Foreign Office spokesman, said in his weekly press briefing.
“We need to understand the context in which the prime minister made the statements”.
“We requested full and unhindered access to the affected population, to interview a variety of individuals on the ground, including victims, witnesses, security forces, and with access to relevant documentation”, said Mr. Zeid.
The spokesman said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly’s session in NY next month.
Pakistan has all along said that India was fanning turmoil in its insurgency hit province of Balochistan. “My predecessor has commented on this issue”, the spokesperson said.
“We will continue to encourage worldwide community to uphold promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the parts of J&K under illegal occupation of Pakistan, and hold the concerned accountable for their violation”, said Swarup.
One must not cast doubts on the outcome of the proposed meeting of the Foreign Secretaries but track record of New Delhi vis-à-vis talks with Pakistan especially on the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir does not spark confidence as India always used the dialogue process as a ploy to hoodwink worldwide public opinion.
“I appreciated the continued commitment of Pakistan to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute for the sake of regional peace and security, as you reaffirmed in your letter”, Ban said.
The spokesman regretted the remarks made by Indian Home Minister terming it against the spirit of the SAARC Charter and diplomatic norms, adding Pakistan is committed to promote objectives of SAARC to enable better cooperation between SAARC members.
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About update on the letter of Foreign Secretary written to his counterpart proposing exclusive dialogue on Kashmir, Zakaria said “we have extended the invitation, and would like to get the issue resolved through dialogue”. The State response to Jammu and Kashmir is best symbolized by the recent police action in Bengaluru, Karnataka, against Amnesty International India for the holding a program on human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. “He (Modi) crossed the red line by talking about Balochistan”, Zakaria said. “There is no comparison between the struggle for liberation in India-held Kashmir and the so-called Balochistan insurgency”, the paper quoted Zehri as saying while addressing a rally in Quetta.
