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ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office hit back on Friday at the Indian External Affairs Ministry’s (EAM) comments on the Kashmir Day observance in Pakistan saying it was India that was under illusions.
“The reality is that it is India not Pakistan, which, with its illusions of grandeur, is obsessed with aggrandisement,” FO spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said at the weekly media briefing.
She was replying to a statement by her Indian counterpart Syed Akbaruddin, who had on Thursday said: “Pakistan’s self-destructive and futile quest for territorial aggrandisement in Jammu and Kashmir is well-known to us.…It is, therefore, high time for Pakistan to start paying attention to all the problems that afflict them rather than covet what is not theirs and never will be.”
Also read: Indian govt changing Kashmir's demographic: foreign secretary
The statement by the EAM spokesman was made in response to a question about rallies held in Islamabad in connection with the Kashmir Day, which is observed every year on Feb 5.
Ms Aslam reminded Indians that Pakistan had been commemorating the Kashmir Solidarity Day every year since 1990, to express its unwavering political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
She noted that, “Jammu and Kashmir is an issue of right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, enshrined in numerous UN resolutions. India continues to usurp this right with impunity, in violation of the UN Security Council Resolutions and the UN Charter.”
About Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir dispute, the spokesperson said that in contrast to India, the Pakistani stance was based on “international law, UN Security Council resolutions and underpinned by moral and political principles”.
She observed that India, while attempting to write a mythical history, forgot the acknowledgement and commitments by its first prime minister on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and quoted former Indian Prime Minister Nehru’s statements on different occasions, including those made before the Indian parliament.
Commenting on the recently held polls in India-held Kashmir, the spokesperson said they were not a substitute for exercise of the right to self-determination.
CHINESE VISITS: Ms Aslam, while talking about the upcoming visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, confirmed that he was likely to visit soon.
“The exact dates would be announced once firmed up. The detailed agenda of the Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Pakistan is still being worked out. The two sides will cover the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and will discuss regional issues of common interest as per our tradition and practice,” the spokesperson said.
She said dates about the much speculated forthcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping would be announced simultaneously from Islamabad and Beijing after the confirmation.
“We have repeatedly said that the Chinese president is expected to visit Pakistan in 2015. The exact dates of the visit are being worked out,” she said.
Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2015
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