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ISLAMABAD: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has urged India and Pakistan to end hostilities and resume dialogue.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Foreign Office along with his host Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz after their bilateral meeting, Mr Johnson said Britain was concerned over the incidents [taking place along the Line of Control (LoC)] and called upon the two sides to end violence and exercise restraint.
Mr Johnson was on his first visit to Pakistan since assuming the office of secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs at the UK Foreign Office. Though the visit was aimed at exploring grounds for further strengthening UK-Pakistan ties, it got overshadowed by rising tensions between India and Pakistan due to escalation on the LoC.
All questions put to Mr Johnson by Pakistani journalists during the media briefing related to the Kashmir issue and the role the UK could play in de-escalating the situation. The issue was also flagged during Mr Johnson’s meetings with his Pakistani interlocutors.
Britain, Mr Johnson said, encouraged both sides to maintain “positive dialogue” and find a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue while taking into account considerations of the local people.
Sartaj Aziz said he shared the government’s concerns with Mr Johnson over deteriorating situation along the LoC and emphasised that India needed to be convinced to agree to talks for defusing the tense situation.
He said it was feared that further complications might arise if dialogue was not started at the earliest.
Earlier, during their bilateral meeting, the adviser underscored importance of the UK’s role in reducing tension between Pakistan and India.
The two sides reviewed progress being made towards strengthening bilateral cooperation in terms of increasing trade, promoting investment and creating greater opportunities for cultural cooperation, and expressed satisfaction on how the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue was moving forward.
“It was agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen cooperation under this framework,” the Foreign Office said in a statement, adding that the two sides also discussed regional and global issues.
Meeting with PM
Mr Johnson later called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House.
Talking to the British foreign secretary, Mr Sharif said Pakistan wanted a serious, sustained and result-oriented dialogue with India on all issues of mutual concern.
The unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Mr Sharif pointed out, remained the main threat to security in the region.
He said India was deliberately escalating tensions along the LoC to divert attention of the international community from the grave situation in held Kashmir.
“International community, particularly the UK, should take notice of gravity of the situation and call upon India to respect human rights of Kashmir people and implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” the prime minister said.
Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2016
