Basit defends meeting Kashmiri separatists
Pakistan ambassador says the separatists are legitimate stakeholders as India hits back saying they have no role to play
New Delhi: Days after incurring India’s wrath for engaging with Kashmiri separatists ahead of talks between foreign secretaries, Pakistan on Wednesday seemed to be looking for a way out of the impasse caused by India’s cancellation of the officials’ meeting.
Pakistan’s high commissioner Abdul Basit told a press conference on Wednesday that Kashmir is recognized as a bilateral dispute as he sought to defend his meeting with four separatist leaders in New Delhi. They were, he said, “legitimate stakeholders" in the process between India and Pakistan to find a solution to the decades-old Kashmir dispute. This, however, drew another rebuke from Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman of the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi, who rejected Basit’s argument.
“After 1972 and the signing of the Simla Agreement by the prime minister of India and prime minister of Pakistan, there are only two stakeholders on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir—the Union of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," said Akbaruddin.
In his remarks Basit said that though the cancellation of the talks was a setback to bilateral ties, he was positive both countries could get their peace process back on track.
“We in Pakistan are convinced that our problems with India can only be resolved through peaceful means and through a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue process. Dialogue is not a favour by Pakistan to India or vice versa," Basit told reporters, adding later: “Both countries need to work on the principle of mutual interest and respect."
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day call for South Asian nations to work together to banish poverty from the region, Basit said: “We attach enormous importance to having a peaceful, normal relationship with India and we will continue working towards that objective."
He sought to paint an upbeat picture of the trajectory of India-Pakistan ties since the installation of a new government in New Delhi. He said both countries had come a “long way" since then, listing joint business forum meetings, plans for holding exhibitions and hosting cultural events as steps towards creating a better atmosphere between the neighbours. “Things are moving on a positive track," Basit said.
India on Monday called off talks between Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries scheduled for 25 August in Islamabad to show its strong displeasure at Pakistan inviting Kashmiri separatists for consultations to New Delhi ahead of the meeting.
Earlier this week, Basit met Shabir Shah, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
New Delhi’s move signals that although India wants peace with Pakistan, the new government will not ignore such provocations by Pakistan, analysts said.
The talks were to be the first face-to-face meeting between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan in almost two years, the plans following an innovative effort by the Modi government to improve ties with India’s neighbours.
The discussions next week were expected to focus on how to take forward a peace dialogue—stalled for more than a year—between India and Pakistan who have fought three of their four wars over Kashmir. They were also to be a build-up for a potential meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Modi in New York on the sidelines of the UN general assembly session.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Basit said interactions with separatist leaders were a long-standing practice set out in the “larger context of exploring peace, towards resolving the (Kashmir) issue. Here I must emphasize that India and Pakistan agree that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral dispute... which needs to be resolved peacefully."
Kashmiris, he said, were “legitimate stakeholders" in the process. When asked about the way forward to break the current impasse, Basit said, “Pakistan is committed to finding a peaceful solution to our problems and though it (the cancellation of talks) is a setback.... but diplomacy is the art of the possible. We will persevere in finding a peaceful solution to our problem."
“There is no reason why we should lose hope of a strong bilateral relationship," he added later.
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