ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday rejected Indian assertions the boundaries of disputed Jammu and Kashmir region were not changeable.
Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks in an interview with CNN International on Sunday, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit reminded New Delhi that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory awaiting settlement in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
“India is only one of the parties to the dispute; it cannot, therefore, unilaterally change the status of the dispute or place preconditions in open contradiction to the right of self-determination of Kashmiris,” the spokesman underlined.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi accused India of delaying resumption of bilateral talks.
He said questions raised by the Indian premier about the control of the Pakistani Army and Islamabad’s aims in Afghanistan are excuses for delaying the peace process.
In the CNN interview coinciding with a US visit, Singh said he was not clear if Pakistan’s president was in control of the army and that Pakistan’s objectives in Afghanistan were not necessarily those of the United States.
Singh also said he was worried about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the wrong hands and complained that Islamabad had not brought to justice perpetrators of last year’s Mumbai attack.
“I am disappointed,” he said. “My feeling is India is dragging its feet and is looking for excuses to not resume the composite dialogue.”
India suspended a five-year-old peace process that included broad talks known as the composite dialogue after the Mumbai attacks in November last year.
India blamed the attack on Pakistan-based militants it said were supported by state agencies. Pakistan condemned the assault on India’s financial capital in which 166 people were killed and denied any official involvement.
Pakistan has acknowledged that the Mumbai assault was plotted and partly launched from its soil and is prosecuting seven suspects in a closed-door hearing.
Qureshi said that showed Pakistan’s seriousness in dealing with those behind the Mumbai attack.
Qureshi also rejected Singh’s doubts about Pakistan’s objectives in Afghanistan, saying the world recognized Pakistan’s resolve in fighting militancy and its sacrifices.
— With input from agencies
