PM’s adviser says Modi wants to build relations with Pakistan on India’s terms, which wants Kashmir issue to be put on the backburner
Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday urged greater national unity to effectively tackle challenges being faced by Pakistan, including the situation on the Line of Control and relations with India.
“The whole nation will have to be united and tell India that we will never accept Indian supremacy or hegemony; will never forget rights of Kashmiris; and will protect our vital interests,” he told PTV.
The adviser said that India would have to be told that Pakistan in terms of military or defence has capability to protect its vital interests and there should not be any doubt in this respect. He said that the parliament would also debate this issue and would guide the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on how to tackle the current crisis.
He said that the parliament would also send a strong signal to India as well as the whole world. To a question, Sartaj said that he saw relations with India at their low. However, he said that Pakistan would do its best to keep the relations normalised with no increase in tension, as the two countries could not afford it.
To another query, he recalled the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the prime minister’s objective was to revive the dialogue process and normalise the relations. However, he said that the Indian prime minister wanted to normalise ties with Pakistan on India’s terms, which was based on the view that the issue of Kashmir should not be given importance and be put aside as a non-issue.
That is why the Indian side cancelled the secretary-level meeting on flimsy grounds, he said, adding that forgetting Kashmir on the pretext that it was not an issue was not acceptable to Pakistan.
“If Kashmir is not an issue, why you have deployed 700,000 troops in the state, why the troops from the two sides are sitting eye-ball to eye-ball on the Line of Control, and why the Kashmiris are still agitating for their rights,” he said.
Sartaj said that this issue could not be whisked away.
“If meaningful talks are held, we can find a solution which is acceptable to Kashmiris.” He said that it was not just an issue between Pakistan and India but it was a matter of self-determination by Kashmiris. To a question, he said if the tension at the Line of Control escalated, it could affect the economic future of the whole South Asia.