India snubs Pak, says Hurriyat is not a stakeholder
21 Aug 2014 5:46 AM IST
New Delhi has rejected Pakistan’s stand that separatist organisations like Hurriyat Conference were stakeholders in Kashmir dispute.
He was reacting to the statement made by Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit that Hurriyat was a stakeholder. ‘We need to engage with all stakeholders. It is not a question of either, or as far as we are concerned. We are engaging with India to find peaceful ways,’ Basit said during an interaction with journalists at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia here while reacting to India’s stand that Pakistan should either choose dialogue with separatists or Indian government.
Justifying his meeting with the Kashmiri separatists, Basit said, ‘We strongly believe that our interaction is helpful to the process itself. It is helpful to find peaceful solution to the problem. It is important to engage with all stakeholders. So that is the bottomline for us.’
In response, Akbaruddin said any approach other than laid down in Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration won’t yield results. Akbaruddin said, ‘After 1972 and the signing of the Simla Agreement by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, there are only two stakeholders on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir – the Union of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This is a principle which is the bedrock of our bilateral relations. This was reaffirmed in the Lahore Declaration of 1999 between Pak prime minister Nawaz Sharif and prime minister Vajpayee.’
Asked why did India permit meetings between Pakistan and the Hurriyat in the past, the MEA spokesperson said: ‘Pakistan assured us, at the highest level, that they were committed to a peaceful dialogue on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and would not allow Pakistan or territories under its control to be used for terrorism against us. We know now, particularly after the Mumbai terror attacks and the manner in which Pakistan has pursued subsequent investigations and trials, that this assurance had no meaning.’
The fresh round of sparring has raised doubts about the prospects of early resumption of the dialogue process. India had called off talks between foreign secretaries slated for 25 August, telling Pakistan bluntly to choose between an Indo-Pak dialogue or hobnobbing with the separatists.
He was reacting to the statement made by Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit that Hurriyat was a stakeholder. ‘We need to engage with all stakeholders. It is not a question of either, or as far as we are concerned. We are engaging with India to find peaceful ways,’ Basit said during an interaction with journalists at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia here while reacting to India’s stand that Pakistan should either choose dialogue with separatists or Indian government.
Justifying his meeting with the Kashmiri separatists, Basit said, ‘We strongly believe that our interaction is helpful to the process itself. It is helpful to find peaceful solution to the problem. It is important to engage with all stakeholders. So that is the bottomline for us.’
In response, Akbaruddin said any approach other than laid down in Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration won’t yield results. Akbaruddin said, ‘After 1972 and the signing of the Simla Agreement by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, there are only two stakeholders on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir – the Union of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This is a principle which is the bedrock of our bilateral relations. This was reaffirmed in the Lahore Declaration of 1999 between Pak prime minister Nawaz Sharif and prime minister Vajpayee.’
Asked why did India permit meetings between Pakistan and the Hurriyat in the past, the MEA spokesperson said: ‘Pakistan assured us, at the highest level, that they were committed to a peaceful dialogue on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and would not allow Pakistan or territories under its control to be used for terrorism against us. We know now, particularly after the Mumbai terror attacks and the manner in which Pakistan has pursued subsequent investigations and trials, that this assurance had no meaning.’
The fresh round of sparring has raised doubts about the prospects of early resumption of the dialogue process. India had called off talks between foreign secretaries slated for 25 August, telling Pakistan bluntly to choose between an Indo-Pak dialogue or hobnobbing with the separatists.
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