ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today (Tuesday) set five pre-conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) conflict.
“Pakistan desired peaceful ties with India and wanted to resolve all issues through dialogue,” Dr Moeed Yousaf, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security, said in an interview to Indian journalist Karan Thapar.
Talking about the pre-conditions, Dr Moeed Yousaf said that for any meaningful dialogue to take place between the two neighbours, India has to release all political prisoners in Kashmir, end inhuman blockade and restrictions, rescind domicile law that allows non-Kashmiris to settle in the disputed territory, stop human rights abuses and end state terrorism in Pakistan.
“Pakistan would be ready for dialogue with India if Modi government accepts those preconditions,” he said. However, the Special Assistant did not mention the restoration of the special status of IIOJK as one of the pre-conditions for restarting talks with India.
This was the first time Pakistan put forward its pre-conditions for the resumption of talks with India since the Modi-government revoked the special status of IIOJK.
Commenting on the terrorism in Pakistan, the Special Assistant said that Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing’s (RAW’s) was involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan. “We have evidence that the mastermind of December 2014 APS terrorist attack in Peshawar was in contact with RAW,” he added.
Moeed Yusuf further said that India had used a consulate ‘in a neighbouring country’ to launch attacks on a five-star hotel in Gwadar, the Chinese consulate in Karachi and the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
“India recently spent $1 million to merge the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) and four other terrorist organisations in Afghanistan under the supervision of RAW officials,” he remarked.
The special assistant concluded that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted a peaceful neighbourhood but India’s expansionist and Hindutva policies were the main hurdles in the way of peace.
