NEW YORK: Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States (US), Masood Khan, has said that Pakistan wanted to engage with India to de-escalate the tensions in their relations.
In an interview with a prominent US weekly, Newsweek, he said that if peace continued to fail, particularly over the contentious issue of Kashmir, the consequences could be disastrous for both countries armed with nuclear weapons. it will also harm the international community.
He warned that the state of affairs is abysmal in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The ambassador said there could be miscalculations and accidents over the Kashmir issue. It was an unfinished and incomplete agenda from the partition of the Indian subcontinent. So, what is diplomacy for if it does not invest energy and time in resolving such hot problems that severely affect the destiny of millions of people? he raised question.
He acknowledged that, before any talks, there would be conditions put forth by both sides.
Ambassador echoes PM Shehbaz Sharif
Echoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the ambassador said that for Pakistan, this meant that the actions taken in August 2019 should be held in abeyance, a demand he said has been echoed by those within the valley itself.
He said that the activists had accused India of imposing media lockdowns, making arbitrary arrests, and trying to change the demographics of the majority-Muslim region of over 12 million people by allowing non-residents to purchase properties there.
Highlighting these accusations, he describes IIJOK as a “mass prison.” –APP
