US asks Pakistan, India to begin talks on Kashmir issue

DUBAI: The US State Department has stressed India to fully protect the basic human rights in Held Kashmir.

“Pakistan and India should work out for the reduction of tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) and start positive dialogue on the Kashmir issue,” the Urdu spokesperson of the State Department Zed Tarar stated in an exclusive interview with The News in Dubai. He said Pakistan and India are partners of the United States and both must formulate the strategy to ease tensions through dialogues.

Speaking on the human rights and digital blockades in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Zed Tarar demanded that Indian government should lift the internet blockade in the region and “freedom of expression” must be respected and protected in the Valley. While referring to “Afghan peace process”, the US State Department Urdu spokesperson said the US was not reviewing the Doha Agreement with the intention of making any changes. He said the new US administration was scrutinising if Taliban are complying with the terms and conditions of the Afghan peace process. “The Afghan war is almost 20 years old and the US does not want war,” Zed Tarar stated, adding that the US wanted peace in the region. To a question about slain US journalist Daniel Pearl, he hoped that the culprits in the case should not only be held accountable but justice should also be seen to be happening.

He hoped that the Pakistani government would fulfill its responsibilities in this connection. Talking about the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal, Zed Tarar said the new US administration certainly intended to restore “nuclear deal with Iran” but would consult with its partners in the Middle East. “Obviously, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China and European Union (EU) would be consulted “about the Iran nuclear deal”, he said before restoring the deal.

He said Biden’s administration was exploring ways to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with major world powers including the US. But the deal was abandoned in 2018 by former president Donald Trump, who restored sanctions over Iran. Zed Tarar disclosed “how Iran is complying with 2015 nuclear agreement,” and its associated conditions are being scrutinised before the resumption of the agreement.