Pakistan asks India to stop treating Kashmir as its integral part

Upping the ante, Pakistan today said there can be no result-oriented discussions with India on Kashmir unless New Delhi stops treating it as the country's integral part and seeking a solution within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.

Intensifying the criticism of the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit called on India to "revisit its approach and its Kashmir policy rather than trying cosmetic measures here and there because this is not going to bring about any difference as far as the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is concerned."

"Unless India takes a fresh look at its Kashmir policy, does some introspection and stops treating Jammu & Kashmir as its integral part and stops harping on seeking a solution within the Indian Constitution, we do not believe that we can really have any meaningful or result-oriented discussions with India on this (issue)," Basit told a weekly news briefing.

He was responding to a question on the Indian government's efforts to address the protests in Jammu & Kashmir by sending a delegation of political leaders to meet Kashmiri leaders.

Basit noted that the Hurriyat Conference had already rejected the move.

He also described as "self-serving" India's rejection of resolutions passed by both houses of Pakistan's Parliament condemning the violence in Jammu & Kashmir and calling on the international community to ensure the implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir.

"Jammu & Kashmir is an international issue and subject of several UN resolutions. The Senate and National Assembly resolutions of September 20 reflect the concerns of the people of Pakistan on the gross and systematic violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people by Indian security forces," he said.

Basit noted that the UN secretary general had called for an end to the violence while the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Amnesty International had asked India to end the violence and protect the rights of people.

"Pakistan is committed to finding a just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute and will continue extending its moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle against Indian occupation," he said.

In response to another question, Basit said Pakistan is not undertaking any propaganda against India on the Kashmir issue.

"If you are describing that as propaganda on the part of Pakistan, it is totally self-serving and just to mislead the international community because the issue is far bigger than what the Indians are saying," he said.