News
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Kashmir remains core issue between India, Pak: FMISLAMABAD: Kashmir remains the core issue between India and Pakistan hampering development and prosperity in the region, said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar during a meeting with a British delegation on Tuesday.
British Parliament member Steve Baker and Councilor Mahboob Husain Bhatti along with a delegation of the Kashmir European Forum called on the foreign minister to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Khar appreciated the role Baker had played in initiating a debate on Kashmir in the British House of Commons. She said the democratically elected government of Pakistan had made substantive and consistent efforts for a meaningful engagement with India. The foreign minister said that Pakistan was committed to a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute that needed to be resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions and aspirations of Kashmiri people. The CBMs on Kashmir agreed upon between the two countries had paid dividends and helped build an atmosphere of mutual trust, she said. Khar said that Pakistan had continued to draw the attention of international community to human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and persistently called for revocation of the draconian laws imposed there. Steve Baker assured the foreign minister that both he and the Kashmir European Forum would continue to support the just cause of Kashmiri people.
The outgoing ambassador of Spain to Pakistan, Gonzalo Maria Quintero Saravia, also called on the foreign minister. Saravia informed Khar that he was a candidate for the post of Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force director at the UN Secretariat in New York and sought Pakistan’s support to his candidature. The foreign minister said that Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations with Spain and underlined the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and investment, especially in the renewable energy sector. Discussing the situation in Afghanistan, she said that peace and stability in Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s strategic interest. staff report
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk