ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Faisal Thursday said that Pakistan was ready to resolve all outstanding issues with India but the eastern neighbour was not willing to come to the negotiation table.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson in his weekly media briefing said the international community should take notice of the atrocities being committed by Indian forces in the Held Kashmir. “India is trying to crush the just struggle of the people of the occupied valley with force,” he said.
Dr Faisal urged the international human rights champions to act immediately to get the Indian reign of terror in Held Kashmir stopped. He said the people of Kashmir expect the international community to fulfill its obligation towards the resolution of the lingering dispute. He said Pakistan has always expressed full solidarity with the Kashmiri people and it will continue to extend its moral, political and diplomatic support to their just cause for the right to self-determination. Pakistan is willing to bear all expenses for the treatment of the people injured in the Held Kashmir, he said.
Dr Faisal said that the foreign ministry was in the process of sending representatives to several countries in order to apprise the international community of the plight of the Kashmiri people.
Before the beginning of the briefing, a video was played which showed the recent Indian atrocities and human rights violations in the Held Kashmir. The spokesperson informed the media that April 6 (today) will be observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day in Islamabad and in Pakistani missions globally. He said that Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has personally briefed the diplomatic corps in Islamabad about the recent Indian atrocities. “Prime Minister of Pakistan has also emphasized that Indian attempts to label the legitimate Kashmir struggle as terrorism cannot deter the valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand of exercising their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.
The spokesperson strongly condemned the recent blatant use of force against innocent Palestinians in Gaza. He said that just solution of the dispute with Al-Quds Al Sharif as the capital of Palestinian state can only guarantee peace and stability in the region.
When asked about Pakistan’s reaction to a recent aerial strike on a seminary at Kunduz in Afghanistan, the FO spokesperson said the incident which claimed the lives of children and civilians was deplorable and also detrimental to revival of the peace process. He said Pakistan believed in an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. He said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will be visiting Kabul on Friday (today) as part of the country’s policy of engagement with Afghanistan.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan supports Saudi Arabia against any threats to its territorial integrity. He said Pakistan has already condemned the latest Houthi ballistic missile attack on Saudi cities.
Published in Daily Times, April 6th 2018.
