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Polls no substitute for plebiscite: Pakistan
By Sardar Sikander Shaheen
ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the ongoing general polls in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), Pakistan on Thursday said these polls were not an “alterative to the exercise of their right to self-determination.”
“Absolutely not, and this is the position of the United Nations Security Council resolutions as well that any elections in Indian-occupied Kashmir are not an alternative to the exercise of their right of self-determination,” Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam Khan responded to a query when asked to comment, during the weekly press briefing, if the polls in IHK were an alternative to the right of self-determination.
Some reports suggest that Indian premiership probable Narendra Modi recently sent his emissaries to Pakistan to meet senior government functionaries in the Centre here. The FO spokeswoman, when asked, did not offer a denial on this count but attempted to detach from the reported affair. “I am not aware of any such visits,” she said in response to a related question posed by Daily Times during the briefing.
On the premier’s upcoming visit to the UK, she said that the visit was taking place on the invitation of British PM David Cameron. “The PM will hold meetings with a select UK cabinet members, chief executives and investors from the financial and energy sectors and address an investment moot during the visit,” said Tasnim. She said that the visit would further strengthen the close cooperation and excellent relationship that existed between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
To another question, the FO spokeswoman confirmed PM Sharif would visit Iran before May 15, while a schedule was being worked out regarding Iranian interior minister’s visit to Pakistan ahead of Sharif’s visit.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk