Nawaz Sharif. File photo

Islamabad, August 3

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that Kashmir was witnessing a “new wave of freedom movement” as he asked diplomats to “tell the world” that Kashmir crisis was not India’s internal issue.

Addressing the concluding session of the three-day Envoys Conference organised by foreign ministry here, Sharif said: “Resolution of the lingering dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people is the corner stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy”.

“Today, Kashmir is witnessing a new wave of freedom movement,” Sharif said.

“This movement is running into the bloods of third generation of Kashmiri people and the world has itself seen its intensity in the wake of July 8,” Sharif said, referring to the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in Kashmir.

“The Kashmiri youth are writing new chapters of sacrifices to get the right to self determination. They have lost eyes to bullets but the desire for freedom is guiding them to the destination.”

“The ambassador should make the world feel that Kashmir is not the internal problem of India, as India already accepted it as dispute territory and the UN also declared it as a dispute between India and Pakistan.”

However, Sharif said that all bilateral issues with countries in the region should be solved though talks.

“We cannot afford a conflict. If we became part of any conflict, then our progress in the social and economic fields would be affected,” he said.

“Although Pakistan wants peace in the world on the basis of honour, dignity and equality, our desire for friendly ties should not be considered as weakness. We believe in mutual interests, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the affairs of others,” Sharif said.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN Maleeha Lodhi said Sharif had asked her to step-up her campaign to highlight “excesses and rights violations” in Kashmir.

Earlier in the day, Sartaj Aziz, the Prime Minister’s advisor on foreign affairs, told a meeting of secretaries of interior ministries that it was wrong to project Pakistan as being isolated.

Sharif’s statements came on a day when Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in the country for SAARC Interior Ministers’ Conference.

The two countries’ already-strained relationship has soured further in the past few weeks over a recent unrest in Kashmir over a militant’s death and Pakistan’s seemingly “provocative” response.

Kashmir has been on edge since security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. More than 45 people have been killed and nearly 6,000 people were injured in violent protests that followed the killing. — Agencies

Frigid relations between India, Pak permeates SAARC meeting

Islamabad, August 4

Frigid ties between India and Pakistan over the ongoing unrest in Kashmir became apparent at the venue of SAARC interior ministers’ conference as the meeting went underway on Thursday.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his Pakistan’ counterpart Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan greeted each other with the briefest handshake — their hands barely touched — before the Indian Home Minister moved to enter the conference hall.

The Indian press was kept well away from the meeting hall, leading to an argument between a senior Indian and Pakistan official.

Khan claimed Pakistan was “committed to SAARC processes, and, desires to see it as a successful regional organisation”.

“We must do a reality check of what we have achieved so far and what still remains. It is time for us to seize the moment, to leverage our potential and overcome our choices,” he said.

“We have made substantial contribution towards various SAARC processes and have taken a number of initiatives in furthering the goal of close regional integration,” he said.

Relationship between nuclear-armed rivals — already strained — has turned frigid in the past few weeks since violence began in Kashmir after the death of a militant commander.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in an operation on July 8 in Kashmir’s Anantnag district. His death sparked violence that killed more than 45 people in the Valley and left nearly 6,000 injured.

Pakistan’s repeatedly “provocative” statements on the issue has been condemned the statements by India, which calls the Kashmir crisis an internal dispute. — Agencies