ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said Pakistan is ready to welcome third-party mediation for solving all disputes, including the Kashmir issue, with India.
FO spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said disputes and problems with India, including the Kashmir issue, must be resolved through dialogue and communication and Pakistan would appreciate the mediation of any country in such talks.
The spokesman further said Pakistan wanted good relations with India and was not running away from negotiations, adding that Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue has not changed.
He said Pakistan has never refused to negotiate with India. “We believe the international community should hold talks in view of the existing conflict between the two countries,” said Chaudhri.
Countries continued to engage in talks even during war and that issues and disputes could only be solved through dialogue he mentioned.
The spokesman said Pakistan will appreciate the mediation of any country, including the United States, adding that any talks should be meaningful and focused on fundamental issues.
The talks should also be purposeful and fruitful where purposes were concerned, Chaudhri stressed. The environment for talks should be conducive and India should make a conducive environment, he urged.
The spokesman said the biggest issue between Pakistan and India was that of Kashmir and, thus, it would be the basis of any talks between the two countries.
“Dialogue is necessary for peace and resolutions to problems,” he said, recalling that PM Imran had already said that Pakistan would take two steps forward if India took one.
As a first step, India would have to take out the steps of August 5, 2019, which stripped Indian-occupied Kashmir of its special autonomy, the FO spokesperson said.
Highlighting the cruelties in Kashmir he said extra-judicial killings by Indian forces in IoK had continued unabated in the past as 10 more Kashmiris were martyred in Pulwama and Shopian districts of IoK.
Pakistan had repeatedly urged for independent investigations under international scrutiny into the extra-judicial killings of all innocent Kashmiris, he said.
The FO said Pakistan constantly underscored the need for unhindered access to UN human rights bodies, international human rights organizations and media to assess the human rights situation in Kashmir.
The spokesperson urged the world community to recognize the continued human rights violations and play its role in the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
He informed there had been no progress in the appointment of high commissioners for Pakistan and India and a return of the envoys was currently unlikely.
The spokesman also addressed the issue of the delayed release of Pakistani inmates by Indian authorities, calling upon New Delhi to release the prisoners as soon as possible.
