The High Commissioner while noting the seriousness of allegations of excessive use of force and “state sponsorship of violence” regretted the failure of Indian and Pakistani authorities to allow a United Nations team access to Jammu and Kashmir to carry out an independent analysis of the situation.
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Zehri alleged that India is solidly behind the unrest in the volatile province, and the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav in Balochistan earlier this year is a clear evidence of Indian interference.
Interestingly, similar to the Indian government’s move, Pakistan government has also turned down a request by the UN Human Rights Commission to visit PoK.
Foreign Secretary Jaishankar yesterday conveyed his willingness to visit Islamabad for holding talks on terrorism rather than on Kashmir. Pakistan’s invitation for talks at the foreign secretary level came on Monday – India’s Independence Day.
FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said: “AJK is an area open to everyone and is frequented by foreign tourists and members of the diplomatic community in Pakistan, including representatives of the United Nations, where they have observed recent elections and met cross section of people”.
The olive branch followed 40 days of violent protests in Indian-ruled Jammu and Kashmir that were sparked when Indian security forces killed a field commander of Pakistan-based Islamic militant group Hizbul Mujahideen.
Hasanul Haque Inu, Bangladesh’s minister of information, who is visiting India, told The Hindu that in 1971 Bengalis were “targeted” by Pakistan’s military in East Pakistan which broke away from the mainland to become Bangladesh.
In his letter, Jaishankar recalled “Pakistan’s long history of violence and terrorism against India” – from 1947 to the 1965 war and the Kargil war.
On Wednesday during a press conference here, Jaishankar had stated that Pakistan uses terrorism as a tool for diplomacy.
To a question on comments by Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, that Modi’s reference to the Balochistan issue has crossed red lines, Swarup described it as an “extraordinary remark”.
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New Delhi also recalled the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972 and Lahore Declaration of 1999 by leaders of both the countries to resolve bilateral disputes within the framework of the two documents. “I think Pakistan will not accept India trying to hold it to its past commitments and will try and find a way to get out of talks with India”, Bhaskar said.
