Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said Pakistan hopes that following the general elections in India, its new government will hold meaningful dialogue with Pakistan on all longstanding issues.
Addressing a seminar titled ‘Pakistan-India Relations and Resurgence of Freedom Struggle in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK)’ at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Qureshi said world’s silence over the atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir is remorseful. He said Pakistan has always expressed serious intention about engaging India in bilateral dialogue but Indian government always stayed away from it. “We all know that they have general elections in near future and Pakistan bashing increases their vote bank,” he added.
The minister said Pakistan’s positive diplomacy resulted in de-escalation between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. “I tried to create national consensus in the wake of Pulwama incident but the political leadership of the country seemed reluctant. Though the response of opposition parties on the issue was not negative, they looked hesitant to act promptly on the matter,” he said.
The minister said the incumbent government is not oblivious to the deprivations of Balochistan and has taken great initiatives in health, education and infrastructure sectors.
He reiterated that being part of the Afghan peace process was an embodiment of Pakistan’s support to Afghan-led and Afghan-owned government for the best interest of the region.
FM says international community’s silence over Indian atrocities in Held Kashmir is regretful
He said government has full clarity regarding the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) to its fullest for peace and stability in the country.
He said country’s political and economic diplomacy is helping overcome the hurdles and attract foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in CPEC where special economic zones are being built.
Qureshi said Pakistan was included in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) before the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. “We are now being pushed towards the blacklist of FATF but our government will do its best to avoid the situation,” he said.
The foreign minister paid tribute to the people of Indian-held Kashmir who are continuing their freedom struggle despite raging Indian violence and atrocities.
Addressing the ceremony, Mishal Malik, the wife of Hurriyet leader Yasin Malik, said human rights violations are a matter of routine in the occupied valley. She said global pressure is required to force Indian put an end to the sufferings of the innocent Kashmiri people. She stressed that the release of captured Indian pilot Abhinandan was a powerful peace gesture by Prime Minster Imran Khan but India did not reciprocate the move and a golden opportunity for peace was lost.