Aug 09 , 2015
News
Pakistan will not invite IHK speaker
* Sartaj says Islamabad’s principled position on Jammu and Kashmir will be compromised if speaker is invited
ISLAMABAD: Special Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz on Saturday said Pakistan would not invite the of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) Assembly speaker to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held from September 30 to October 8.
Talking at a book launch, Aziz said Pakistan’s principle position on IHK would be compromised if the speaker is invited to the conference because Pakistan does not recognise and accept the IHK assembly. The national security adviser went on to say that the conference would go ahead as scheduled, with over 70 percent of the delegates having confirmed their participation.
Aziz said Pakistan had not as yet responded to India on the national security advisers’ meeting proposed by the latter on August 23 in New Delhi.
“Pakistan is preparing its agenda for the meeting and consultations for that are underway... after finalisation of the agenda, it would be shared with India.”
Aziz regretted that Pakistan was blamed for all terrorist attacks in India, even before investigations are conducted. “This will be taken up at the national security advisers’ meeting,” he said.
Talking about Pakistan’s fight against militants, Aziz said Pakistan did not differentiate between good and bad Taliban, adding that action had been taken against all. Responding to a question on peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which had been brokered by Pakistan and were stalled after the announced death of Mullah Omar, Aziz said the postponed second round of talks will take place in Pakistan soon.
He hoped that these peace talks would go a long way in bringing peace and stability to the region. Indian Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr TCA Raghavan said Pakistan had broken protocol by not inviting the speaker of Indian-held Kashmir Assembly.
“In the past Pakistan has invited delegations from Indian-held Kashmir,” he said, and went on to add that India will not attend the conference if Pakistan does not invite the speaker of occupied Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
On Friday, India said it would boycott Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) to be held in Islamabad in protest against Pakistan for not inviting the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) assembly speaker.
The CPC is scheduled to be held from September 30 to October 9. Reportedly, Pakistan has said the speaker was not invited, as IHK is a disputed territory.
However, India has asked Pakistan to send the invitation or face boycott.
“Earlier today, an emergency meeting of the president of the union chapter as well as the 31 India chapters of the CPA (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) India region was held in which they called on the chairperson of the CPA executive committee to use her good offices to immediately resolve the matter and ensure the issue of invitation to [Indian-held] Jammu and Kashmir CPA branch, failing which the India chapters will boycott the event,” said Indian foreign minister spokesperson, Vikas Swarup. IHK Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta had said, “Pakistan has deliberately done this to humiliate India. I would like to thank the speaker of the lower house and the legislative assembly members for taking a strong decision.”Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk