ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday hoped that the international community would put sustained pressure on India for stopping human rights abuses in held Kashmir and resuming dialogue with Pakistan.

At the weekly media briefing, FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria recalled that several countries, the United States, China and Iran among them, have offered to mediate between Pakistan and India. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has offered his good offices for resolution of the conflict, but India has repeatedly spurned the offers, Mr Zakaria added.

“Despite offers of mediation, India remains intransigent and refuses to hold genuine dialogue,” he observed.

On the other hand, the spokesman recalled, Islamabad always welcomed these offers from the international community.

“We value our friendly and cordial relations with Iran and the US and will appreciate their role in resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” he said.

The spokesman further said: “Pakistan is looking forward to the international community’s efforts towards pressuring India to stop bloodshed in IoK [Indian Occupied Kashmir] and engage in meaningful dialogue”.

He stressed that any dialogue with India should be “result-oriented and sustainable”, and not just empty talk.

“This dialogue process must lead to resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he maintained.

The spokesman said it appeared that world pressure was growing on India over its human rights abuses in held Kashmir, but he would not say how long New Delhi would be able to defy it.

“The UN Human Rights Commissioner has said twice it’s ready to send a fact-finding mission. Civil society members are carrying out activities to sensitise people and their respective governments on the blatant human rights violations in IoK by the Indian occupation forces. Recently, Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon openly declared on the house floor that what is happening in IoK warrants investigation,” Mr Zakaria recollected.

“The international community will make India accept and pay for the crimes against defenceless Kashmiris tomorrow, if not today,” he added.

The spokesman castigated India for using multilateral forums like the Heart of Asia conference for maligning Pakistan even at the cost of derailing their agenda.

“The negative atmosphere, which India created much before the (Heart of Asia) conference, distracted people’s attention from the real purpose of the gathering. We deeply regret this Indian attitude.

“It did not serve the purpose behind the conference,” he said, adding that India was “obsessed and hell-bent on maligning Pakistan” at every opportunity.

He reiterated Islamabad’s stance that New Delhi had stepped up its drive to malign Pakistan in an attempt to distract world attention from the atrocities being perpetrated by its forces against Kashmiris.

Reacting to the Afghan president’s allegations that Pakistan was a sponsor of terrorism, the spokesman pointed fingers at Afghanistan and said terrorist sanctuaries were located there.

“When we talk about terrorist organisations’ hideouts, they are present in Afghanistan,” he said, asking Kabul to shun the blame game and instead work with Pakistan for countering terrorism and to improve border management.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2016