ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: Pakistan’s reaction to Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom’s statement that Tel Aviv favours resolution of the Kashmir issue and all other disputes between Pakistan and India under the Simla Accord remained somewhat guarded. Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan when asked by Dawn how Pakistan saw the Israeli minister’s reported statement on Kashmir, he avoided giving a direct comment. His measured response was: “We have always maintained that the Kashmir issue is that of the self-determination of Kashmiri people and should be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people.”

He emphasized that the solution should be such that is acceptable to the people of Kashmir, adding that there were several UN Security Council Resolutions on it. “The Simla Agreement also protects that the final outcome of Kashmir dispute has to be consistent with the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” the spokesman maintained.

Reportedly Shalom in a recent newspaper interview said that Tel Aviv welcomed the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India and hoped they would resolve all issues in the spirit of the 1972 Simla pact.

He made this statement in response to a question on Israel’s position on the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

Notably, this was the first public statement on Kashmir by the Israeli foreign minister and it comes less than a week after his first diplomatic contact with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri in Istanbul.—Q.A.