ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (APP): Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Tuesday said India would have to reverse the pre-August 5 status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) if it was serious to hold talks with Pakistan on all the issues.
Talking to national and Arab media, Ashrafi who is also the chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council said the steps taken in August 2019 by the Indian government violated the United Nations resolutions and also contrary to the stance of the international community.
He said the Indian government should stop atrocities against Kashmiris and move towards negotiation to resolve all issues.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed a unanimous stance of the government and nation in an interview with Al Arabiya channel,” he said adding, “Wars are not the solution of issues as they could only be resolved through dialogues permanently.”
He said Pakistan could respond and retaliate to all kinds of aggression but it wanted talks for peace and stability in the region, but it could not be possible until the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir status.
He said the stance of Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the Kashmir issue was in line with Pakistan’s position.
Ashrafi expressed the hope that dialogues between Pakistan and India and the resolution of the Kashmir issue could bring prosperity to the region.
In response to a question, he said Islam did not allow forced conversion and marriage as Pakistan’s Ulema, Mashaykh, and religious scholars had issued ‘Fatwa’ on this very issue.
He also termed the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding forced conversion and marriage against reality.
He made it clear that there was no concept of forced conversion and marriage in Islam and the complaints, in this regard, had decreased to a great extent in Pakistan.
He proposed that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner should conduct a thorough and impartial investigation as some institutions and non-governmental organizations only spread this kind of propaganda for their vested interests.
