- Information minister says talks in Russia a good omen for reviving stalled Indo-Pak talks
- Says Musharraf harmed Kashmir cause the most
Countering the criticism on Friday’s talks between the Pakistani and Indian premiers, Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid said on Saturday that all the disputed matters were discussed in their meeting in Russia.
The minister, who noted that topics such as Kashmir, Sir Creek, and Siachen as disputed matters, told the media that these regional issues had been raised in the meeting.
Following Friday’s talk between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Ufa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), many on both sides of the border had criticised the lack of mention of Kashmir. Even in the joint communique by the foreign secretaries of both countries, released after the meeting, there was no explicit mention of Kashmir even as it called for resumption of the stalled dialogue and vowed progress on specific issues such as fishermen and the Mumbai trial case.
Talking to reporters on Saturday, Rashid described the talks in Russia as a good omen which could help resume the talks in the region. He added that India had asked the United Nations to isolate Pakistan but China intervened and did not support this stance. The information minister further added that Modi had been invited to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, to be held in Pakistan, to resolve several regional issues.
MUSHARRAF BLAMED:
Rashid also claimed that former military dictator Pervez Musharraf harmed Kashmir cause the most.
“Kashmir cause would have achieved its goals and Pakistan would not be facing energy crisis and terrorism today had Musharraf not overturned a democratic government,” he said, adding that “where is Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) formed by Musharraf today?”
“The political party of Aabpara’ has collapsed.”