India yesterday refused another offer from Pakistan to hold talks on the Kashmir dispute, officials said.
In reply to a letter by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar said that India was only willing to discuss ‘cross-border terrorism’ which was its ‘core concern.’
Officials said, Jaishankar’s letter was handed over by Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to Chaudhry.
India asked Pakistan to ‘vacate’ Azad Jammu Kashmir claiming it also belonged to them.
Chaudhry’s August 19 letter, second in the last 10 days, invited Jaishankar to visit “Islamabad by the end of this month to discuss the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, with a view to finding a fair and just solution, as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions and aspirations” of the people of the state. He had first written to Jaishankar on August 15 for talks on Kashmir.
Pakistan has called for “putting an immediate end to the human rights violations against the innocent people” of Jammu and Kashmir and for providing medical facilities to the injured, “including the permission for doctors and paramedics to travel.”
The sharp exchange of words comes amid strain in bilateral ties between the two nations over the continuing unrest in Kashmir with Islamabad issuing statements in support of deceased Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani.
The HM leader was hailed as a martyr by Pakistan, which also internationalised the Kashmir issue with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the country’s foreign office writing to a host of countries besides the United Nations, while India has been maintaining that “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism” in the held Valley is the “root cause” of the turbulence.
