Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has shown concern over confrontation on the Line of Control (LoC) and advised Pakistan and India to resolve their problems through negotiations and dialogue. He expressed these views in a joint press stakeout with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz here on Thursday at Foreign Office.

The British Foreign Secretary who came to Pakistan for the first time has advised India and Pakistan to show restraint and try to find out a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. He said that it was not for his country to recommend a solution or act as a mediator.

He said that Britain had concerns regarding recent uprising on both sides of the LOC in Kashmir and also called upon Pakistan and India to end violence. The British foreign secretary said that Pakistan and its neighbors have incredible human potential invited Pakistan to imagine what the future could be like if peace could be achieved.

Johnson said that Britain and Pakistan have close and deep relations and people of Pakistani origin comprise two percent of the entire British population. He said both countries have strategic, commercial and economic cooperation. “We could do much better than 2.5 billion pounds a year of bilateral trade,” he said.

He said both countries have agreed to enhance business engagements and have also decided to launch a programme of business engagement focusing not just on enhanced strategic dialogue, but also on the opportunities presented by celebrations of Pakistan’s 70th anniversary next year.

Aziz appreciated Britain’s support and assistance to Pakistan in the field of education and health. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had invited his British counterpart Theresa May to visit Pakistan in 2017 and Pakistan eagerly looked forward to her visit. Sartaj Aziz said that in the meeting that he apprised the foreign secretary about the situation on the Loc and Indian shelling across the border.