No change in Pak stand on IIOJ&K

ISLAMABAD: There is no change in Pakistan’s principled and long held position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which is an outstanding issue with India, and this is clearly stated, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a day after an agreement of ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) was agreed to by the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.

“Pakistan has always maintained that we want peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, including the internationally recognized dispute of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no change in our principled position,” said the Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri during the weekly media briefing here on Friday.

The focus of the talks of DGMOs was de-escalation along the LoC as per the agreed mechanisms and understandings.

“Pakistan has consistently underscored the need to observe the 2003 ceasefire understanding in letter and spirit for maintenance of peace along the LoC. We have also maintained that escalation along the LoC is a threat to regional peace and security. Therefore, this development is very much in line with Pakistan’s consistent position”, said the spokesman. He said it was in the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace both sides agreed to strictly observe all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the LoC and other sectors.

Both sides agreed to the need to utilize the existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings. “I would also like to share that there have been over 13,600 ceasefire violations by India since 2003. In the year 2020 alone, there were 3,097 ceasefire violations resulting in 28 shahdats and 257 injuries to the civilian population,” added the spokesman.

Regarding the Human Rights Watch report, he pointed out that Pakistan had been repeatedly saying that gross human rights violations in India and IIOJ&K were a matter of deep concern. “The international community, including the UN human rights machinery, humanitarian organizations, the parliamentarians and the

media has been consistently raising the issue of egregious human rights violations in IIOJ&K and in India. I have already talked in my opening statement about the resonance of human rights violations in IIOJ&K at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council,” Chaudhri stated.

Commenting on the Indo-Pak strife in Balakot on February 27, the spokesman said Pakistan remembered the day with pride, as its valiant armed forces responded to the Indian misadventure in a befitting manner.

“The armed forces of Pakistan, as is their tradition and hallmark, demonstrated full combat readiness and high degree of inter-service harmony. Pakistan’s response was firm, mature and responsible. Tomorrow, the nation will once again pay tribute to their national heroes for their exemplary courage and professionalism,” he added.

However to a query about allowing India to use land route through Pakistan to reach Afghanistan, it appears that Islamabad is still not ready for this while allowing Afghan goods to go into India.

“Regarding the Afghan Transit Trade, we believe that Afghan economy needs support and in that spirit we allow the export of Afghan goods to India under the Afghan Transit Trade,” said the spokesman.

After Thursday’s ceasefire agreement, there have been reports that one of the next steps in bilateral relations would be the holding of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad which in the past India had vetoed.

Asked whether SAARC came up during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Sri Lanka, the spokesman explained that for Pakistan, SAARC was an important platform for regional cooperation and for the betterment of the people.

“We believe that SAARC provides an important platform for regional cooperation and all member states must utilize it to enhance cooperation for the betterment of the people. During the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Sri Lanka, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives of the SAARC charter,” Chaudhri responded.

In the joint communiqué of the visit, both sides stressed the need to convene the charter based bodies and agreed to take forward the SAARC process for further strengthening regional cooperation to achieve prosperity in the region.

The spokesman to a query was reluctant to name the countries who stood by Pakistan in the recently held FATF meeting, saying it would not be appropriate since they were confidential.

The FATF, he said, had appreciated Pakistan for the significant progress made on the entire action plan.

In its plenary meeting held on 25th February, the FATF had stated, “To date, Pakistan has made progress across all action plan items and has now largely addressed 24 of the 27 action items.”

“Pakistan has also made notable progress in the remaining 3 action items, which also stand partially addressed. The FATF has acknowledged Pakistan`s continued high-level political commitment to combat terrorist financing that led to significant progress across a comprehensive Action Plan. Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to continue strengthening the AML/CFT regime in line with the global standards,” he assured.