No India talks until IIOJK status revised: FM

KARACHI:

 

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said that there would be no bilateral dialogue with India until New Delhi reversed its decision of revoking the special status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Addressing a news conference at the Karachi Airport soon after his return from Goa, Bilawal said his visit to the neighbouring country was successful as he presented Pakistan’s narrative and negated anti-Pakistan propaganda.

Bilawal went to the Indian coastal resort city on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Minister (SCO-CFM). He addressed the gathering of the top diplomats from the eight-nation bloc on Friday.

Despite the restriction on discussing disputed issues between India and Pakistan, Bilawal said, he succeeded in presenting Pakistani narrative at the CFM and negated propaganda against Pakistan in his interactions with the Indian media.

“BJP and RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party] want to declare not only every Pakistani, but every Muslim, including me, as terrorist,” the foreign minister told reporters. “For them, all Muslims are terrorists,” he added.

Bilawal wondered that not a single Muslim BJP representative was elected to both the upper and lower houses of India. In Pakistan, he said, “we not only allot tickets to our Hindu candidates to contest in general elections, but we also induct them into cabinet”.

During the SCO-CFM, Bilawal said, he clearly conveyed Pakistan’s narrative as to how the BJP-led Indian government violated the international laws, conventions and UN Security Council resolutions by taking unilateral actions on Kashmir.

“During the visit, I got the opportunity to interact with the Indian media and present our case and negated the propaganda against Pakistan. Overall, I succeeded in present our case before the participants,” he added.

Reiterating that India’s unilateral action on August 5, 2019, gave a “new birth” to the Kashmir cause, the foreign minister warned that there would be no meaningful breakthrough until India undid its 2019 decision.

Bilawal belittled Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks against Pakistan. He said that his Indian counterpart spoke out of his insecurity that “they feel because of violating the international laws”.

The Indian minister, he added, believed in fake propaganda when it came to terrorism. “The whole world has witnessed how we have paid the price, while waging the war against terrorism. We have suffered more than any country in the world,” he said. “India want to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, but its nefarious designs will be foiled.”

When asked about the head money put on his head by a BJP leader, the foreign minister said that political parties “don’t behave like this and it must be widely condemned” and added that democratic approach must prevail now.

"After the invitation for the SCO meeting, I decided to go there in order to fight for Pakistan’s cause in the land of India," he said, adding that he interacted with other SCO members on regional issues, including Kashmir.

Taking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, Bilawal said that the SCO members, including Russia and the Central Asians States (CAS) appreciated it and expressed their willingness to become part of it.

Concluding his presser, Bilawal said that he would hold talks with the foreign ministers of China and Afghanistan in Islamabad on Saturday. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and information Sharjeel Inam Memon were also present on the occasion.

Onus on India

Bilawal, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), expressed similar views while interacting with the media in India after the SCO-CFM. He said that the PPP always advocated normalisation of ties with India but vitiated the environment in 2019.

Bilawal linked any change in Pakistan’s India policy to the reversal of unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019, and said that onus was now on India to build a conducive environment for talks.

“The unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, have not only violated international laws and the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions but also the bilateral agreements,” he added. “This violation has created a trust deficit as India could also unilaterally violate the bilateral agreements in the future, too.”

Asked about the Indian decision of hosting the G-20 meeting in IIOJK, the foreign minister replied: “Obviously, we condemn it and at the time, we will give such a response that will be remembered.” He also said India would soon find that “they will be unable to achieve 110% attendance because other people will not compromise on their morals”.

He said: “It is a show of Indian arrogance to the world that to hell with the international law, to hell with the United Nations Security Council resolutions, to hell with any bilateral agreements, India will hold their event in Kashmir.”

He told the media that in 2026, Pakistan would be holding the CFM chair, and hoped that India would take a good step to participate in the summit on the basis of “reciprocal diplomatic agreements”.

He said most of the people in both India and Pakistan wanted to live in peace and achieve development without being held hostage to history.

The foreign minister appreciated his Indian counterpart for fulfilling his responsibilities as the CFM chair and also lauded the CFM management and cultural show, which represented all member states.

Regarding Indian demand for a neutral venue for Asia Cup 2023, the minister said, “I believe we shouldn’t hold sports hostage to politics or foreign policy and the purpose of sports is that you keep it away from such issues … The hope is that a petty action won’t be taken and we should keep our sportsmen and cricket separate from politics and foreign policy.”