Islamabad, August 22
Pakistan said on Thursday that there were many offers of mediation on Kashmir, but any progress would be possible only if India accepted them.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
India maintains that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and there was no role for a third party.
“There are mediation offers coming from many countries but we cannot move forward until India accepts (those offers),” Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
US President Donald Trump in July had said that he would like to mediate between India and Pakistan and that his offer was made after a request from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Ministry of External Affairs has denied that Modi made such an offer.
Faisal also condemned the “curfew-like” situation in Kashmir saying India was committing grave human rights violations.
To a question about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rhetoric against his Indian counterpart, Faisal said, “Whatever our Prime Minister says about Modi, I stand by it.”
The spokesperson said Pakistan is committed to operationalising the Kartarpur Corridor on time. “Our effort and desire is that Kartarpur opens on time,” he said. He said a meeting on Kartarpur would be held soon but so far no decision had been taken. PTI
