ISLAMABAD, July 13 (TNS): Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakariya expressed serious concerns over frequent ceasefire violations by Indian forces on the line of control and the working boundary. He said the Indian side is deliberately heightening tension in order to divert world attention from its atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
He said that India’s belligerence poses threat to regional peace and security. He wasspeaking at his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, The spokesperson said Indian forces committed five hundred and forty two ceasefire violations in the current year in which eighteen civilians embraced martyrdom.
He said Pakistani forces give befitting response to the Indian aggression but they are demonstrating utmost restraint as Pakistan has no desire to escalate the tension. He said the world community and the United Nations have also expressed concerns over the LOC situation. He said Pakistan believes in resolution of all issues through dialogue.
Highlighting in detail the Indian gross human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, Nafees Zakariya said Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute. He said the several resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on the disputed territory await implementation over the last several decades. He said peace and stability will remain elusive without just resolution of the dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and the UNSC resolutions.
The spokesperson said it is time that the international community takes concrete measures to stop the bloodshed in the valley.
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan is considering the Indian request for the grant of visa to the mother of Kulbushan Yadav. He, however, regretted that the India has imposed strict restrictions on the grant of visa to Pakistani patients. He said the Indian external affairs minister’s statement that the patients will be issued visa on the recommendation of Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz’s recommendations is against the diplomatic norms.
About Samjhota Express terror attack, the spokesperson said it is reprehensible that no progress has been made over investigation into the attack in which forty two Pakistani people lost their lives. He said the Indian side should bring the culprits of the attack to justice.
To a question, Nafees Zakariya said Pakistan believes that there is no military solution to Afghan issue. He said focus should be on politically negotiated settlement. He said political incentives can be extended to attract the Taliban to the table of negotiations.
