ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has invited Indian diplomat to visit Islamabad in the last week of August for talks on Kashmir issue, a statement issued by the Foreign Office said on Friday.
The statement said that Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry handed over his reply, which is to be delivered to Aizaz’s Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, to Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale. The letter read that India should resolve Kashmir issue through dialogues. It also stressed implementation of UN resolution in order to put an end to the ongoing situation in Indian-held Kashmir.
Earlier this week, Pakistan had invited India to hold talks on Kashmir after Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry wrote a letter to his Indian counterpart, asking him to visit Islamabad. India responded to the invitation on Wednesday. New Delhi, however, also pushed for talks on “certain other issues”. Sources also said that India “rejects in their entirety the self-serving allegations regarding the situation in Jammu Kashmir, which is an integral part of India”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra, in his address on August 15, India’s Independence Day, sparked controversy when he claimed: “People of Balochistan, Gilgit and Azad Jammu Kashmir have thanked me a lot in past few days, I am grateful to them.”
Tensions between Pakistan and India have been running high since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani sparked anti-government protests in India-held Kashmir, with over 60 people dead in clashes between protesters and Indian authorities.
