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Making a bold statement, India has called the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as its “own” while extending a helping hand against the alleged human rights violation there.
Setting a pre-condition on going ahead with the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said the “ball is in Pakistan’s court, we are ready for cross-border talks.”
This comes a day after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar expressed his willingness to visit Islamabad to have consultations with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary provided they discuss cross-border terrorism issues and not Kashmir. On Wednesday during a press conference here, Jaishankar had stated that Pakistan uses terrorism as a tool for diplomacy.
Meanwhile, the US did its bit. Mark Toner, Deputy Spokesperson, US State Department, said: “We’ve said that many times. It’s for the good of both countries; it’s for the good of the region. Frankly, it’s for the benefit of the US… We would encourage greater dialogue and counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and India.” Responding to a question on India’s stance towards the people of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK,Vikas Swarup, spokesperson and Joint Secretary in the MEA, said here on Thursday: “The Ministry for External Affairs will do whatever it has to do, after all people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are also our people.”
Swarup reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK because he spoke about the atrocities being meted out to them by the Pakistani government during the All-Party Meeting on August 12.
He added that this is not the first time that Indian establishment has spoken out openly about the situation in those regions.
“We will continue to encourage international community to uphold promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the parts of J&K under illegal occupation of Pakistan, and hold the concerned accountable for their violation,” Swarup said.
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