Pakistan denies Chinese troop presence in Azad Kashmir

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Indian media reports regarding the presence of Chinese troops in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) are baseless, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday.

Commenting on recent events and debates in New Delhi on the contentious Kashmir issue, the spokesman said “now the Indian intelligentsia and scholars are also questioning the Indian government over its position on Kashmir”.

“The Kashmir issue is still mentioned in the UN Security Council resolutions list as an unsettled matter,” Zakaria remarked, while addressing a weekly press briefing.

The FO spokesman said Islamabad had conveyed its disappointment to the Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad over New Delhi’s decision to bar Pakistani diplomats from travelling to Kolkata for the World T20 match between India and Pakistan.

“We were disappointed, but the matter will now be sorted out,” Zakaria said.

When asked, the spokesman said “currently there is no proposal under consideration for a meeting between the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.”

But “such a meeting cannot be ruled out,” he added.

Zakaria said Pakistan is pushing forward the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, requesting stakeholders to avoid blame games on the issue.

The spokesman said no dates had been announced for the Iranian president’s visit to Pakistan, but said Rouhani is “expected later this month”.