Pakistan and India cannot be enemies forever and the two South Asian neighbors need to engage with each other and resolve disputes, Islamabad’s National SecurityAdviser Nasser Khan Janjua said amid escalating tensions between nuclear armed countries.
His comments during a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner Perry John Calderwood came as Islamabad and New Delhi locked horns over Pakistan’s death sentencing of an Indian spy Kulbushan Jadev, who, according to a military court, has been involved in fueling terrorism in Pakistan.
Jadev’s sentencing is the latest in a series of troubles that have pushed South Asia to the edge of a standoff, spreading from the long-running dispute over Kashmir, where Indian forces have perpetrated state terrorism against civilian demonstrators protesting Indian rule in their territory.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sought US mediation on Jammu and Kashmir dispute, a UN-accepted disputed territory. India has opposed any intervention on Kashmir – a stance Pakistan says that New Delhi uses to cover up its massacres of Kashmiris, and suppressing their aspirations for freedom. New Delhi blames Pakistan for backing militancy in the region.
In addition, Pakistan has also accused India of sponsoring terror attacks in Balochistan, a key point for China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which New Delhi opposes.
In his remarks, according to a statement, NSA Janjua said that the international community was ignoring Kashmir for strategic interests related to India.
The top adviser expected the international community to “stand with morality and human rights.”
“Pakistan welcomes the US offer to mediate between Pakistan and India to resolve Kashmir while India has rejected the offer,” he pointed out.
“Although India regards Kashmir a bilateral issue, yet it has defeated spirit of bilateralism by defying any dialogue,” he said.
Nuclear issue is another cause of concern in the region, with Islamabad saying that a discriminatory civilian nuclear technology cooperation deal favoring India is creating strategic imbalance. Janjua underlined the need for a non-discriminatory approach to considering Pakistan membership of the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG).
