NEW DELHI, March 28: India said on Friday it welcomed a joint statement by Britain and the United States condemning recent acts of “terrorism” in held Kashmir.
“The joint US-UK statement by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is largely welcome,” external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.
“We welcome that the US and UK recognize that Pakistan has not fulfilled the commitment it made to the two countries in June last year to stop infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC). The statement repudiates Pakistan’s assertion that it has no responsibility for violence in (occupied) Jammu and Kashmir.”
In a joint statement in Washington on Thursday, Mr Powell and Mr Straw condemned an attack on Sunday in which 24 Hindus were massacred in occupied Kashmir.
New Delhi has alleged Pakistani involvement in the incident, a claim refuted by Islamabad, which has called for an independent investigation.
Mr Powell and Mr Straw called on Pakistan and India to immediately strike a ceasefire in Kashmir and said they wanted to “help both countries start a process aimed at building confidence, normalizing bilateral relations and resolving outstanding differences, including Kashmir”.
Asked to comment on the offer of mediation, Mr Sarna said the two countries had previously made similar statements and had “reaffirmed they are not seeking any mediatory role”.
The spokesman added India “hoped Pakistan would heed the advice offered by stopping infiltration and by doing its utmost to cease all aid and abetment to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure”.
In Srinagar, a leading politician welcomed the US-UK statement, though for altogether different reasons.
“It is a welcome statement and both India and Pakistan should allow the US and the UK to contribute towards peace in the region,” Shabir Shah, head of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), said.—AFP
