No interest in keeping LoC hot: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has conveyed to India that it has no interest in keeping the Line of Control (LoC) hot, and it would be better for New Delhi to either formalise the 2003 ceasefire bilateral understanding, or authorise the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to monitor the Line of Control (LoC) as mandated by the UN Security Council resolutions.

New Delhi has continued to ignore both these proposals and Islamabad’s calls for restraint falls on deaf ears as, 2017 has till date, seen Indian forces carry out 594 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary. This atrocity has seen 21 civilians killed while injuring about 30.

At the same time, Pakistan has called for unconditional bilateral talks saying that it believes in peace and resolving all outstanding issues with India through negotiations. Thursday saw once again the Indian deputy high commissioner being summoned to the Foreign Office for the second consecutive day urging his government to not only respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate incidents of ceasefire violations, but also instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC.

The Indian diplomat was told about unprovoked firing by Indian occupation forces in Nikial and Nezapir Sectors on 19th July 2017. This resulted in Shahadat of 2 civilians, one in Nikial Sector and another in Nezapir Sector, and injuries to 5 others.

The departing Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi, Abdul Basit told the media that, “India should either authorize the UNMOGIP to monitor the LoC or we have also proposed formalizing the 2003 ceasefire understanding. But India never responded. We would like to see the understanding converted into an agreement. We are not interested in keeping LoC hot. We are too busy to create more problems for us in the LoC”.

He also while calling for resumption of dialogue said that India’s insistence of preconditions were unhelpful.

“When you talk about finding a solution, people of Jammu and Kashmir are the main stakeholders and no solution can be tenable unless it is acceptable to them. Hence, Pakistan has been interacting with Hurriyat since its formation in the 1990s and even Indian governments have been engaging with them in one form or other”, he said.

Meanwhile, spokesman at the Foreign Office has welcomed offers from the international community, including China, to help ease tensions between India and Pakistan. “The international community recognizes that for regional peace and security resolution of Jammu & Kashmir dispute is an imperative. Continued heightening of tension due to Indian immature and irresponsible behavior has caused deep concerns among world leaders and multilateral forums such as the UN and OIC, hence a reason behind their offer for mediation”, he commented.

To a query, the spokesman said that the international community has rejected Indian propaganda of equating indigenous self-determination movement of Kashmiris with terrorism. “Last year, the OIC Summit in Istanbul categorically rejected, in its outcome document, this Indian malicious attempt. This month again at the OIC CFM in Abidjan, the Members of OIC rejected the Indian attempts. International Community understands that no external force can sustain or support such a mass-level movement that Kashmiris in all age groups are carrying out in IoK”, he pointed out.

To queries on Afghanistan, the spokesman said that the government is waiting for the Trump administration’s policy review on Afghanistan which is still not complete, but it is clear that there is no military situation to the crisis inside Afghanistan.

“We have constructively participated in all initiatives and forums for promoting peace, stability and reconciliation in Afghanistan and will continue to do that. It is our understanding that the personnel of Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan would be involved in the capacity building of Afghan forces”, he added.

He remained optimistic saying that Pakistan-US cooperation in diverse areas are longstanding. “As far as our role in the context of peace in Afghanistan is concerned, Pakistan’s position is very clear.

Pakistan wants to see peace and stability in Afghanistan, which we firmly believe is in Pakistan’s interest. We have always whole-heartedly supported all efforts to that end. We fully subscribe to an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process”, he said.