ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria on Thursday said that Pakistan is considering India’s request for the grant of visa to the mother of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
India had requested Pakistan to allow Avantika Jadhav to meet her son, who was sentenced to death by a military court on the charges of espionage and terrorism.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj claimed she had written a “personal letter” to Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz asking for the approval of Avantika’s visa application so that she may travel to Pakistan.
However, addressing the weekly news briefing in Islamabad, the FO spokesperson said that asking for recommendations from Aziz to grant visas was against diplomatic norms.
He also regretted that India had imposed strict restrictions on the grant of visa to Pakistani patients. “India’s belligerence poses threat to regional peace and security.”
He expressed serious concerns over frequent ceasefire violations by Indian forces on the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary. He also remarked that India had continuously been violating the ceasefire agreement, adding that innocent Kashmiris, including children, were being targeted by Indian troops.
“The Indian side is deliberately heightening tension in order to divert world attention from its atrocities in occupied Kashmir. Indian forces committed 542 ceasefire violations in the current year in which 18 civilians embraced martyrdom.”
It may be mentioned here that on July 10, five innocent people, including four women, were martyred in unprovoked firing by Indian troops along the LoC, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Four others, including three girls, were injured due to the firing, which occurred in Rawalakot sector, Satwal, Manwal and Tatrinote areas along the LoC.
Before this, back-to-back violations occurred on July 8 and July 9 after which at least two civilians were killed due to unprovoked Indian firing.
The FO spokesman said that Pakistani forces gave befitting response to the Indian aggression but they were demonstrating utmost restraint, as Pakistan had no desire to escalate the tension. “The world community and the United Nations have also expressed concerns over the LoC situation.”
The spokesperson said, “The 44th session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), which was held in Abidjan, Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, on July 10-11, 2017, condemned the state terrorism in the IHK and called upon India to implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions on IHK.”
Nafees Zakaria said that the resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the 56-member council, noted that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between India and Pakistan, and its early resolution is imperative for bringing peace to South Asia.
“The council expressed its support to the widespread indigenous movement of the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir for their promised right to self-determination and observed that the just struggle of Kashmiris cannot be equated with terrorism.” The spokesperson said that the council also called upon the United Nations and the international community to play their due role in stopping the continuing bloodshed in IHK and for the implementation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, which guarantee Kashmiris’ right to self-determination through a UN supervised plebiscite.
“Pakistan believes in resolution of all issues through dialogue. It is time that the international community takes concrete measures to stop the bloodshed in the valley.”
He said that the Kashmir dispute’s reflection in the UK’s Labour Party’s election manifesto, and in the January 19 debate in the House of Commons of the UK, represented increasing concern over the current unacceptable human rights situation in IHK.
Zakaria said, “The Kashmiris observed ‘Youm-i-Shuhdah’ to commemorate the unprecedented sacrifices rendered by Kashmiris in 1931. We pay tribute to shuhdah (martyrs) and express solidarity with Kashmiris in their struggle against Indian unlawful occupation of their territory.”
To a question regarding the missing Pakistani diplomatic staff and another two Pakistani citizens in Afghanistan, the spokesperson said that Pakistan was constantly in touch with Afghan authorities for their early recovery.
He said, “Pakistan believes that there is no military solution to Afghan issue. Focus should be on politically negotiated settlement, which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.”
Published in Daily Times, July 14th , 2017.
