ISLAMABAD, April 10: Pakistan urged India on Thursday to allow an independent probe into nameless graves discovered in occupied Kashmir and the issue of disappearances in the valley.

“Pakistan is deeply concerned on reports of discovery of 1000 nameless graves in Kashmir,” Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said at his weekly press briefing.

He said India should allow international human rights organisations to conduct an independent investigation into the issues of disappeared persons and discovery of nameless graves.

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, which represents the relatives of the people who disappeared during the uprising in the valley, disclosed recently that it had found 1000 nameless graves in Uri, one of the most violent parts of occupied Kashmir near the Line of Control.

Rights groups claim that about 10,000 innocent people have disappeared since an uprising against the Indian rule began in 1990. They fear that these graves may be of the missing people and have demanded an international investigation.

Pakistan believed that in the forthcoming talks between Pakistan and India, the focus should be on resolving the Kashmir dispute, which had caused much suffering to the people of the Indian-held region.

In reply to a question about nuclear waste, the spokesman said that Afghanistan should invite International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts to probe into its allegations of the dumping of nuclear waste by Pakistan during the Taliban era.

“If the Afghan government has any doubts, Pakistan would suggest that it should invite IAEA experts to get the site inspected where the nuclear waste is alleged to have been dumped. The international experts could easily verify if the waste is there since the waste carries distinct signs which experts could easily verify,” Mr Sadiq said.

The spokesman said that Pakistan had taken up the issue with the Afghan government but there was no response from Kabul.

In reply to a question about Dr Khan, the spokesman said there had been no international reaction to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s remarks in a TV interview about the release of Dr Khan.

Mr Qureshi had stated that Dr Khan was a national hero; he was an old man and was not in good health and there would be no harm in allowing him to meet friends, go out on a drive or to a restaurant.

“Internationally the Khan issue is a closed chapter,” Mr Sadiq said.

Rejecting a perception that President Musharraf was leading a weak delegation on his six-day state visit to China because PML-N ministers had refused to accompany him, Mr Sadiq said: “The delegation is strong and the president is accompanied by foreign minister, defence minister and three other ministerial rank officials – Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, Chairman of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.”