Pakistan says any dialogue with India should lead to ultimate resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
Responding to questions at the weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the dialogue should not be for the sake of dialogue but result-oriented and sustainable.
He regretted that despite a number of gestures by Pakistan, India remains defiant and intransigent to the resumption of dialogue.
He said, “Pakistan believes the international community has a role in the resolution of the longstanding dispute.”
“Pakistan welcomes the latest statement of the US Vice President-elect Mike Pence regarding mediation on Kashmir,” he added.
Pakistan had also welcomed the statement of the US President-elect Donald Trump, UN Secretary-General and friendly countries like China and Iran.
To a question, the spokesperson said that so far India is denying undertaking of any fact-finding mission to Indian-held Kashmir but the international community will have to make New Delhi accept such demands and also pay for its crimes against humanity there.
The spokesperson condemned blatant human rights violation by Indian forces in Indian-held Kashmir and noted that Kashmiris remain undeterred in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
Nafees Zakaria further said, “India’s massive arms buying spree and the consequent conventional asymmetry poses threat to regional peace and stability.”
“Pakistan does not want to indulge in the arms race and believes scarce resources of the region should be devoted to socio-economic uplift of the people,” he said.
“India resorted to negativity during Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar to hide its crimes in Occupied Kashmir. This also exposed India’s claims of commitment to the prospects of peace in Afghanistan as it misused a platform meant for promoting peace and stability in the war-torn country.”
About accusation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during Heart of Asia conference, he said, “Pakistan has been taking indiscriminate action against all terrorist groups.”
However, he pointed out the presence of different terrorist outfits on Afghan soil beside use of Afghan soil by Indian intelligence agency RAW for acts of terrorism and sabotage in Pakistan.
He pointed out that eight senior commanders and leaders of Haqqani Network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Jamatul Ahrar were killed in Afghanistan since July this year. This confirms presence and use of Afghan soil by these groups for terrorist activities.
“Pakistan-US relationship dates back to days of independence and Pakistan wants to promote ties with Washington in all fields,” he said.
