ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP):Pakistan on Thursday ruled out possibility of talks with India until the latter restored an “enabling environment by ending continuous human rights violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir”.
“No meaningful engagement with India is possible in a situation where Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) suffers a consistent plight of human rights,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said at a week press briefing.
The spokesperson was responding to a query regarding a recent interview of Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf with an Indian journalist, where he mentioned that India had conveyed intention for a dialogue with Pakistan.
Dr Yusuf, in the interview with journalist Karan Thapar, had said that “Pakistan would agree to hold dialogue with India provided Jammu and Kashmir was made a third party” and also talked about involvement of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in the massacre of Army Public School Peshawar.
Asked how the involvement of a third party would fit into a bilateral engagement, he said, “Pakistan believes that Kashmiris must remain associated with the matter, relating to their future.”
He said Pakistan had a credible and verified evidence about RAW’s connection with APS tragedy, which had also been shared with international community.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan demanded India to “reverse the illegal repealing of Article 35A of its Constitution”, terming it a move based on mala fide to change demography of Kashmir.
The reversal could lead to a favourable environment for holding of a fair plebiscite in the Valley, he added.
Since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5 last year, he said, the Indian occupation forces in brazen manifestation of state-terrorism had martyred over 300 Kashmiris.
He mentioned that more than 600 Kashmiri youth were subjected to custodial torture, while 134 received serious pellet gun injuries during January 1 to September 30.
Zahid Hafeez said Pakistan strongly condemned unabated Indian state-terrorism and extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris, stressing that “India must be held accountable for egregious human rights violations and war crimes”.
He called upon the international community, including the United Nations, human rights organizations and the global media to take immediate cognizance of the aggravating situation in the IIOJK.
“The indigenous resistance movement of the Kashmiris for their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, will only become stronger in the face of Indian state-terrorism,” he said.As regards the meeting of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) next week, Zahid Hafeez said Pakistan had made compliance of 21 out of 27 recommendations, and remained committed to engage with the process and expected a good outcome.
He expressed the hope that the FATF, in India’s Mutual Evaluation to be held next February, would review involvement of 44 Indian banks in money-laundering and terror-financing.
About Indian propaganda against close Pakistan-China friendship, he said Pakistan strongly rejected “irresponsible and unwarranted statements” by the senior Indian leadership.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in his recent remarks, had stated that Pakistan and China were deliberately creating border disputes with India.
“The Indian defence minister’s statement demonstrates an inexcusable lack of self-awareness of RSS-BJP regime’s self-serving narrative,” he said.
Asked if the recent US air raids targeting Taliban fighters in Afghanistan would affect the peace process, the FO spokesperson said Pakistan had always maintained that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict.
“Reduction in violence is extremely important to ensure a sustainable peace,” he said, urging all the stakeholders to pursue an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political settlement.
Regarding the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan, he said India must cooperate with the Pakistani courts rather than insisting on its “insane” and “illogical” demands.
He recalled that Pakistan twice provided “unimpeded and uninterrupted” consular access to Jadhav, besides an offer extended for a third access as well.
On the Kartarpur Corridor, he said Pakistan had already started work on the bridge at Budhi Ravi on its side to facilitate movement of the Sikh community across the border. He,however, added,”The delay was on part of India.”
The 551st birth anniversary of Sikh spiritual leader Baba Guru Nanak was scheduled for November 28-30, but India was using dilatory tactics to create hurdles at the Corridor – a true symbol of peace and manifestation of inter-faith harmony, he said.
As regards the US sanctions imposed on Iran this week, he said Pakistan believed in the policy of constructive engagement through diplomatic channels to resolve complex international issues instead of sanctions.
