Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Sawrup confirmed on Friday the news of India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar sending out a strong reply by rejecting Pakistan’s latest invitation for talks on Kashmir.
Swarup said that in his letter, the Foreign Secretary has conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that the government of India is open for a result oriented dialogue on the Kashmir issue, on the basis of the Simla Agreement of 1972, Lahore Declaration of 1999 and the Joint Statement of 2004.
In a statement that is sure to increase friction between the two countries, Swarup revealed that Jaishankar in his letter has underlined that it is not just India, but the larger South East Asian region which is aware of Pakistan’s role as a perpetrator of terrorism.
The war of words between the two nations comes amid a strain in bilateral ties over the continuing unrest in Kashmir with Islamabad issuing provoking statements on the turmoil following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last month.
Pakistan Regrets India’s Rejection of ‘Discuss Kashmir’
Responding to the development, Pakistan said it “regrets” India’s virtual rejection of its proposal for talks on Kashmir. However, this did not stop it from briefing the ambassadors of the P-5 and European Union countries about the situation in an attempt to internationalise the issue.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz briefed the Ambassadors of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and the European Union –about the alleged “killings and serious human rights violations” being committed in Kashmir, a Foreign Office statement said.
S Jaishankar’s Reply to Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary
Earlier, news had emerged of India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s stern reply to his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry’s fresh invitation of 19 August to visit Islamabad by the end of this month to discuss the Kashmir dispute.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said in a letter that he was willing to discuss terrorism emanating from Pakistan’s territory which was India’s core concern. The reply also stressed on the need for earliest possible vacation of Islamabad’s illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), they added.
According to sources, Jaishankar’s letter was handed over by Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to Chaudhry.
(With agency inputs.)
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