London/Islamabad: The Kashmir dispute would be solved after the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
Jaishankar was speaking at a session at the Chatham House think tank in London on Wednesday, prompting Pakistan on Thursday to reject as “baseless” his remarks regarding Kashmir, while making counter demands to address the issue.
Responding to an audience question on “solving” issues in Kashmir, Jaishankar stated, “On Kashmir, actually we have done, I think, a good job solving most of it.”
“Removing Article 370 was step number one, restoring growth and economic activity and social justice in Kashmir was step number two, and holding elections with a very high turnout was step number three.
“I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation; when that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved,” Jaishankar said.
In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan rejected Jaishankar’s remarks.
“Instead of making baseless claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation from the last 77 years,” he said while addressing a weekly press briefing.
“The relevant UN Security Council resolutions stipulate that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. India’s prevarication cannot change this reality,” Khan said.
He also rejected the claims by the Indian minister about the elections held in its part of Kashmir last year and said, “any electoral exercise pursuant to the Indian constitution cannot serve as a substitute to grant of right to self-determination.”
He also rejected India’s claims about starting economic activities in Kashmir. “Similarly, the decades-old grievances of the Kashmiri people cannot be meaningfully addressed through economic activity down the barrel of a gun,” Khan said.
The spokesperson also urged India to realise that a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people was imperative for a lasting peace in South Asia.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.
The India-Pakistan bilateral ties nosedived and the trade between the two countries stopped after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
