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India inflexible on Siachen issue: Pakistan
FO says Simla agreement does not make UN resolutions on Kashmir ineffective
INP
ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office has said that India has never responded positively on proposals regarding resolution of Siachen issue – a military conflict over glaciers of the divided state of Jammu Kashmir.
In her weekly press briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that the proposal of declaring Siachen a peace park and demilitarisation of the territory came into the bilateral discussions in the past, but Indian policy towards resolution of this issue always remained inflexible.
She said that pronouncing bilateral negotiations between Pakistan and India on Kashmir as undermining UN Security Council's resolutions was legally and politically incorrect. She said that the actual legal position on Kashmir was that the dispute must be resolved as per the aspirations of Kashmiri people through plebiscite. She said that the Simla Agreement does not make UN resolutions ineffective.
She said that Pakistan and India sooner or later would have to resume composite dialogues for the sake of sustainable peace in the region. She said that the consultation with Kashmiri leadership was a routine matter. She said that the process of declaring any organisation as terrorist outfit was enshrined in the UN charter. She said that unilateral US decision declaring three Pakistanis as terrorists does not apply on Pakistan.
Regarding Afghanistan, the spokesperson said THAT Pakistan welcomes political transition in Afghanistan and also welcomes bilateral security agreement between Afghanistan and the US. She said that Pakistan supports every initiative aimed at bringing stability on the western neighbour because sustainable peace was in the interest of everyone. Being an independent country, Afghanistan can sign any agreement with any country, she told a questioner.
Tasnim said that the elimination of terrorism was a common responsibility of all countries of the region. Regarding polio, she said that Pakistan was committed with its responsibility regarding the polio eradication and every Pakistani travelling abroad was being administered with vaccination. She said that the government was taking every possible step in this regard. However, she said it was regretful that new polio cases have been recorded.
She welcomed release of journalist Faizullah Khan from Afghanistan and thanked every person involved in efforts for his release. She said that Pakistan through its mission in Afghanistan extended all possible support to Faizullah including provision of legal counsel.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk