Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan believes in peace and security in the region, zero-tolerance against terrorism, and more importantly, maintains law and order situation within peripheries of the country. He extended a categorically rejected and very clear response to the Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishanka that firing incidents across the line of control (LOC) by Pakistan.
Moreover, when he was asked by the host, H. R. McMaster, about the future of Pakistan-India relations, Jaishankar during the conversation said there had been an agreement between the directors general of military operations of the two countries to not fire at each other across the LoC, which he said had seen a lot of firing.
“We have seen a lot of that mainly because there has been infiltration from their side,” he alleged.
Jaishankar termed the ceasefire agreement as a “good step”, but said there were bigger issues that needed to be resolved between the two countries. “Since 1947, part of the problem has been the use of cross-border terrorism [by Pakistan],” he alleged.
But he said it was important currently “if there is thinking [in Pakistan] along the lines that there needs to be a better relationship with India”.
“On our side, there has been clarity of thinking and that is that we cannot accept terrorists. We cannot accept it as legitimate, diplomacy or as any other aspect of statecraft,” Jaishankar added.
“So let us see where this progresses. Obviously, everybody hopes for the best.”
Rejecting the Indian foreign minister’s allegations, Chaudhri in a statement said, “peace and security in the region [are] threatened on account of India’s brutalisation of Kashmiri people and refusal to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions, [and] its own pledges to the international community and the Kashmiris.”
The FO spokesperson added that it was Kashmir that was the “core outstanding issue between Pakistan and India” since 1947 which awaited settlement as per international legitimacy.
“India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, in IIOJK were against international law and manifestly anti-peace. The movement against the Indian occupation and its state-sponsored terrorism in IIOJK is indigenous and is likely to continue till India decides to act in accordance with the UNSC resolutions, mandating a free and impartial plebiscite in the occupied territory,” the statement quoted Chaudhri as saying.
“Rather than regurgitating insinuations against Pakistan, India will be well advised to create enabling environment for a meaningful and result-oriented engagement for resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as well as any other issues,” the spokesperson added.
