FO slams 'surgical strike' statement by Indian army chief

Relationship between Pakistan, United States on positive trajectory

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday made it clear that it cannot open the Kartarpur Corridor in the absence of a dialogue between the two countries.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said dialogue was a vital element for resolving all such issues.

“In the absence of any dialogue, nothing can move forward,” Faisal replied when asked about Pakistan’s stance on opening the Kartarpur Corridor that would allow thousands of Sikhs to visit their holy place on this side of the border without a visa.

It was former Indian cricketer Navjaot Singh Sidhu, who made the first announcement that Pakistan was willing to open the Kartarpur Corridor. He was passed on this information none other than Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan.



Later, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that a mechanism had already been evolved to allow the Sikh pilgrims to travel to this side of the border without any visa.

The initiative; however, is in doldrums after a recent slump in the already tense ties between the two countries.

Relations between the two countries have gone down the hill despite initial positive exchanges between the leadership of Pakistan and India following the change of government in Islamabad.

The spokesperson said Pakistan strongly believed in resolving all issues through dialogue but at the same time made it clear that it was not begging for a dialogue if the other side was not willing to reciprocate.

“We cannot force any country to negotiate. You would remember that PM Modi had written the first letter, to which PM Khan had responded. Later, India first agreed and in less than twenty four hours, withdrew its agreement. The only way forward that is known to Pakistan is through dialogue, which should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible,” he said.

Speaking on the current situation in Occupied Kashmir, the spokesperson said the Indian occupation forces during the last two weeks, on the pretext of increasingly frequent cordon and search operations, killed eighteen Kashmiris.

“Indian occupation forces also reportedly used chemical weapons against Kashmiris during a recent cordon and search operation in Bandipora district. Use of chemical weapons is a felony against humanity,” he said.



Pak-US ties

Referring to the statements of Indian Army Chief about the surgical strikes, he said head of a professional army should not make such claims.

On the recently-concluded visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to US, the spokesperson claimed that Pakistan's relations with the United States were on a positive trajectory.

Answering a question, he said bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table is a shared responsibility of all the countries. He said Pakistan supports Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process for durable harmony in the country.

He said Pakistan will continue with its border management project to check cross-border movement of terrorists.