Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office has condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement regarding Balochistan and Gigit-Baltistan and termed it as a violation of United Nations charter, saying that his statement was an attempt to divert the attention from Indian atrocities on held Kashmir.

PM Nawaz Sharif would forcefully present Pakistan’s stance on the state-terrorism in Indian-held Kashmir at the upcoming session of UN General Assembly in New York next month, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

“The prime minister is going to take up this issue very seriously at the UN platform,” spokesman Nafees Zakaria assured in a weekly press briefing at the Foreign Office. He said that Pakistan always raised the issue of Jammu Kashmir at the annual UNGA session and mentioned Nawaz Sharif’s speech during last year’s session where he strongly highlighted the internationally recognised dispute.

Zakaria said that since the killing of Burhan Wani, Indian brutalities and use of force against unarmed and innocent Kashmiris were on the increase, as more than 80 people have been killed so far by the Indian forces in the disputed valley.

He said most of the UN Security Council members had already been taken onboard on the continued violation of human rights in held Kashmir. Whether more dossiers would be presented to the UN about Indian involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan, the spokesman said investigations were in process following the arrest of Indian spy Kalbhushan Yadav. “At appropriate time, we will further take action in this regard,” he said.

When asked on India approaching China on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Foreign Office spokesman said the project of broad-based economic cooperation between the two countries would also benefit other countries. The CPEC is not about just Pakistan and China, but will lead to the economic development of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia (Middle East), he added.

About the stranded Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia, he said Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Minister Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi was currently present in Saudi Arabia to oversee the situation. He mentioned that the minister visited the camps in eastern province and met the Saudi ministers for labour and health to discuss the problems of Pakistani workers.

He said that Pakistan has already invited all finance ministers of member counties to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Finance Ministers Conference, which would be held on August 25-26 in Islamabad. “We are waiting for confirmation from India,” he said, adding that he was not aware whether the Bangladeshi finance minister would attend the conference or not. He said the statement of the Indian home minister was against the SAARC charter as well as norms of diplomacy.

On Pakistan’s stance on Syria situation, the spokesman said Pakistan supported all efforts for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict. He said that Pakistan was in favour of Vienna and Geneva talks between the Syrian government and opposition.