“Negotiations with India not possible until reversal of ‘illegal action’ on occupied Kashmir” In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a statement. The statement comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold serious and sincere talks to resolve pressing issues, including Kashmir, and said the leadership of the United Arab Emirates could play a key role in bringing India and Pakistan to the table.
“My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down at the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir,” the premier said in an interview with the UAE’s Al Arabiya news channel.
“In Kashmir, flagrant human rights violations occur daily.” The prime minister claimed that India had usurped any semblance of autonomy granted to Kashmiris under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which was revoked in August 2019. Minorities in India were being persecuted, he said, adding that India needed to stop this to send a message to the rest of the world that it was ready for meaningful talks.
According to the PMO spokesperson, about PM Shehbaz’s Al Arabiya interview today, the prime minister has consistently stated that Pakistan and India must resolve their bilateral issues through dialogue and peaceful means. “However, the prime minister has repeatedly stated on record that talks can only take place after India has reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019. Without India’s revocation of this step, negotiations are not possible.”
The PMO spokesperson said that the settlement of the Kashmir dispute “must be by the UN resolutions and aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“During his recent visit to the UAE, the prime minister made this position very clear in an interview with Al Arabiya,” he added.
“It is up to us to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other, and waste time and resources. We’ve had three wars with India, and they’ve only added to the people’s misery, poverty, and unemployment. We’ve learned our lesson, and we want to live in peace as long as we can solve our genuine problems. We want to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity, and provide education, health care, and employment to our people, not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition, that is the message I want to convey to Prime Minister Modi,” he stated.
“We are nuclear powers, armed to the teeth, and if God forbid a war breaks out, who will live to tell the tale?” said the premier.
He described Saudi Arabia as a friendly and brotherly country with centuries of brotherly relations. Millions of Muslims had brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia before Pakistan was formed and carved out of India, he recalled, and they visited Makkah and Medina.
The UAE, he said, was a second home for millions of Pakistanis, and he had made a successful visit to the country as prime minister. He described Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as an affectionate brother and ardent supporter of Pakistan, who wished for the country’s people to progress and prosper. Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan was also a close friend of Pakistan, and the country was in his heart.
“Leadership of Pakistan and Gulf countries have resolved to cooperate in the realm of trade and culture and project Islam as a religion of peace and shun all forms of terrorism. We collaborate as strategic partners,” he added.
According to the Prime Minister, the UAE is a second home for millions of Pakistanis.
The prime minister stated that Pakistan’s woes and difficulties would not have been alleviated if the brotherly Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia had not provided tangible and substantial support. He stated that the Pakistani people were resilient and brave and that they would stand on their own by promoting trade and investment.
