ISLAMABAD: India on Thursday formally rejected Pakistan’s proposal to hold exclusive talks on the issue of Kashmir and said it will only discuss the issue of terrorism alleged infiltration of militants with Pakistan, it has been learnt.
India’s Secretary for External Affairs S. J. Shankar wrote a letter to Islamabad, in which it was mentioned that “India would not hold dialogue with Pakistan over Kashmir issue.”
Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Gotam Bambawale handed over the letter to Secretary Foreign Affairs Aizaz Chaudhry.
Earlier this month, a letter was written by Foreign Affairs secretary to his Indian counterpart Shankar, inviting him to visit Islamabad to hold bilateral talks on the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir.
“India has rejected the proposal saying that it would only hold talk with Pakistan on terrorism and the alleged infiltration of militants from the Line of Control (LoC),” said the Foreign Office.
“Suitable response would be delivered to New Delhi after thorough consultations,” said the officials in Islamabad.
The letter written by Pakistan had highlighted the international obligation of both countries to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
The offer by Pakistan was made despite the Independence Day speech of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he spoke about alleged human rights abuses in Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
On August 12, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had offered a dedicated dialogue to India on Kashmir and observed that India’s policy of not engaging in a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan was not conducive for peace in South Asia.
