ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: Pakistan on Tuesday urged India to consider with “an open mind” its proposals on demilitarization and self-governance in Kashmir. Reacting swiftly to the unenthusiastic and negative feedback of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: “It would be regrettable if the Indian side chooses to be evasive in responding to these ideas which must be considered with an open mind in the interest of finding a solution of the Kashmir dispute and durable peace in the region.”
Advocating the need for the Kashmir dispute to be addressed with sincerity, flexibility and courage by both sides, the spokesperson underlined that Pakistan was committed to promotion of a solution that met the aspirations of the Kashmiris.
In a rebuttal to the Indian reaction to the proposals the Foreign Office maintained that these ‘ideas’ were pertinent to the resolution of the Kashmir issue and more importantly backed by the Kashmiri leaders.
“These ideas of demilitarization and self-governance remain relevant towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute as these have also been supported by Chairman APHC, Mir Waiz Umer Farooq and other Kashmiri leaders in occupied Kashmir,” it said.
Taking a strong exception to the repetition of reference to Gilgit and Baltistan by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, the Foreign Office said it was uncalled for.
“We had stated earlier that the fundamental issue remains the systematic and large-scale human rights violations of the Kashmiri people by the Indian occupation forces,” it reiterated.
According to informed sources to what Islamabad repeatedly refers to as “ideas” on demilitarization and self-governance are actually concrete proposals that Pakistan had made to India even before the prime ministers of the two countries met in Dhaka early this month.
Apparently, before formally making these proposals, the Kashmiri leadership was also taken into confidence.
