Pakistan warns India against unilaterally altering status of Kashmir

Published January 21, 2015
Sartaj Aziz says unprovoked firing on LoC portends India’s dangerous desire to create a space for war.- AP photo
Sartaj Aziz says unprovoked firing on LoC portends India’s dangerous desire to create a space for war.- AP photo

ISLAMABAD: The prime minister's advisor on Wednesday said that efforts by India towards unilaterally altering the status of Kashmir would further compound an already complicated situation between the two countries.

"Unprovoked and indiscriminate firing and shelling from across the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, with Indian leadership threatening disproportionate use of force, portend India’s dangerous desire to create a space for war," Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz told the concluding session of the two-day Ideas Conclave hosted by the Jinnah Institute.

Mr Aziz said this behaviour also reveals a clear dichotomy in India’s insistence on eliminating terrorism on the one hand and creating distractions for Pakistan's armed forces engaged in a relentless and non-discriminatory counter-terrorism operation ‘Zarb-i-Azb’.

Aziz said the cancellation of secretary-level talks by India on the pretext of Pakistan's High Commissioner meeting with Kashmiri leaders was found unconvincing worldwide.

He expressed concern over New Delhi’s defence spending and said India is "accentuating the conventional asymmetry and seriously impacting regional stability".

The adviser said the rise of non-state actors like the Islamic State (IS) has changed the global threat matrix and is beginning to imperil the stability of many states and societies including in this region.

He said terrorism, climate change, economic interdependence, regional integration, and a shrinking globe, are all facets of the infinitely complex world that we are destined to grapple with.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Hybrid’ talk
22 Jun, 2025

‘Hybrid’ talk

IN the past, while most elected governments would at least publicly bristle at the mention of being partners in ...
Farcical nomination
Updated 22 Jun, 2025

Farcical nomination

Many citizens have expressed dismay and embarrassment over this symbolic capitulation to the US presidency.
Sunken dreams
22 Jun, 2025

Sunken dreams

THE heartrending fate of people escaping conflict, deprivation and instability across the globe is among the...
Tax tussles
Updated 21 Jun, 2025

Tax tussles

Lawmakers should try and fix the broken tax system rather than advocating for new amnesties.
Seniority crisis
21 Jun, 2025

Seniority crisis

THE Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has determined that there is nothing wrong with Pakistan’s president...
Monsoon readiness
21 Jun, 2025

Monsoon readiness

OUR cities are once again staring down the very real prospect of waterlogged streets and stalled life with PMD’s...