ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Pakistan hit back on Thursday at calls by Asian and European states for it to end terrorism in Kashmir, saying they failed to take India to task for its actions over the disputed state.
“It would have been appropriate for the ARF (Asean) Regional Forum to call upon India to end its repression in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The statement was issued more than 24 hours after the governments of 22 countries and the European Union attending the forum in Brunei said Pakistan should “take urgent further steps to implement” its fight against terrorism.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office slammed the ARF resolution for failing to tell India to “find a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute through negotiations with Pakistan.” Bilateral dialogue “would remove this dangerous source of continuing tension and threat to peace in the region,” the Pakistani statement said.
The statement announced in Brunei on Wednesday said:
“While welcoming its commitment to counter terrorism, ministers earnestly looked to Pakistan to take urgent further steps to implement it.—AFP
