ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said no improvement in relations with India is expected as long as it does not change its negative attitude and stop persecution of defenseless Kashmiri people.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria stated this in an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan’s News & Current Affairs Channel.
He regretted that the Indian side has missed many opportunities of normalization relations with Pakistan due to its negative attitude which it manifested by sabotaging the SAARC conference as well as the recently held BRICs and Heart of Asia moots.
The spokesperson said the ongoing movement in occupied Kashmir cannot be linked with terrorism but it is the just struggle of local people for their right to self-determination. No other country gives weightage to Indian argument which links the movement with terrorism.
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan is effectively highlighting Kashmir dispute at international fora and will continue to do so. He said we will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri brethren.
The spokesperson said it is because of our forceful diplomacy that the United Nations, the OIC and several international human rights organizations have voiced concerns over the prevailing gross human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. He said the Geneva based Human Rights commission and the OIC have demanded an independent inquiry into the atrocities. He was confident that in the coming days, India will be left with no option but to allow an inquiry into occupied Kashmir’s situation.
Nafees Zakaria noted that Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute and there are several UNSC resolutions which accept the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
He said the resolution of this seven decades old dispute is imperative for peace and stability in the region.
Giving a complete background of the lingering dispute, the spokesperson said several important countries have offered mediation for the resolution of the dispute but the Indian side is sticking to its intransigence which will not augur well either for India nor for the regional peace and stability.
The spokesperson said that India is trying to cover up its persecution campaign in occupied Kashmir by heating up the situation at the line of control.
