- The spokesperson says Indian forces committed 542 ceasefire violations in 2017
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday that authorities are looking into the request of Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav’s mother to grant her a visa so that she could visit her son in prison.
At his weekly news briefing in Islamabad today, FO spokesperson expressed serious concerns over frequent ceasefire violations by Indian forces on the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary. He said the Indian side is deliberately heightening tension in order to divert world attention from its atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
The spokesperson said Indian forces committed 542 ceasefire violations in the current year, in which 18 civilians embraced martyrdom.
He said Pakistani forces gave a befitting response to the Indian aggression, but they are demonstrating utmost restraint, as Pakistan has no desire to escalate the tension. He said the world community and the United Nations have also expressed concerns over the LoC situation. He said Pakistan believes in the resolution of all issues through dialogue.
Highlighting in detail the Indian gross human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, Nafees Zakaria said Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute. He said the several resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on the disputed territory await implementation over the last several decades. He said peace and stability will remain elusive without a just resolution of the dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and the UNSC resolutions.
The spokesperson said it is about time that the international community took concrete measures to stop the bloodshed in the valley.
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan is considering the Indian request for the grant of visa to the mother of Kulbushan Yadav. He, however, regretted that the India has imposed strict restrictions on the grant of visa to Pakistani patients. He said the Indian external affairs minister’s statement that the patients will be issued visa on the recommendation of Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz’s recommendations is against the diplomatic norms.
About Samjhota Express terror attack, the spokesperson said it is reprehensible that no progress has been made over the investigation into the attack in which 42 Pakistani people lost their lives. He said the Indian side should bring the culprits of the attack to justice.
To a question, Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan believes that there is no military solution to Afghan issue. He said the focus should be on a politically negotiated settlement which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. He said political incentives can be extended to attract the Taliban to the table of negotiations.
