Ahead of Asim Munir’s visit to US, Pakistan issues BIG statement on Kashmir issue: ‘Will want to make…’
Amid tensions between India and Pakistan, the latter said on Friday that it would welcome any help from the US or other countries to resolve the Kashmir issue. Its Foreign Office spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, stated that the country wants to “take the route of diplomacy”.
Ahead of Asim Munir’s visit to US, Pakistan issues BIG statement on Kashmir issue: ‘Will want to make…’
Amid tensions between India and Pakistan, the latter said on Friday that it would welcome any help from the US or other countries to resolve the Kashmir issue. Its Foreign Office spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, stated this at his weekly press briefing after being asked about the US interest in the Kashmir issue. He said, “About the US’ interest in settlement of the Kashmir issue, we welcome help not only from the US but any country which can help stabilise the situation and move towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute, which is at the heart of issues of peace and security in South Asia. We will welcome that.”
Pakistan on Kashmir issue post Op Sindoor
Ali Khan was asked that whether Pakistan and India connected after the four-day conflict in May post Operation Sindoor to resolve issues, to which Khan responded by saying that there was no such contact and added that “we welcome the US’ interest to work with the two sides for the resolution of this issue”. “Our overall diplomatic position is well known. We want to take the route of diplomacy, but it is the Indian side which has to make up its mind. And so far, there are no contacts between our two sides, except for the routine diplomatic contact,” he said.
India rejects multi-party on Kashmir issue
India maintains that it does not want any third-party involvement in its discussions with Pakistan. The Simla Agreement signed between the two countries in 1972 rejects any third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue. India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.
Talking about the terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, he said Pakistan highlighted the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan on several occasions.
He also rejected speculation about any secret agreement with the US to extract minerals. “There is no question of any secret agreements or Pakistan compromising on its national interest. At the same time, there is a mechanism through which we invite Foreign Investment,” he said.
He also rejected as “baseless” the allegations of the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Ukraine conflict and said Islamabad has not been formally approached by the Ukrainian authorities on the issue.
(With inputs from PTI)
