Modi’s Balochistan Barb Just a Diversionary Tactic: Pakistan

The move comes on the same day that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raked up the issue of Balochistan and PoK.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s references to Balochistan and PoK are attempts to divert attention from “the grim tragedy that has been unfolding in the Indian-occupied Kashmir over the past five weeks, ” Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Advisor Sartaj Aziz said on Monday.

The contrast between the Indian Kashmir and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir could not be more stark. India should recognise that the core issue of Kashmir cannot be resolved by bullets. It requires a political solution, through serious negotiations between India and Pakistan. 

Aziz was reacting to Modi’s Independence Day speech in which he raked up the issue of Balochistan and ‘Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’.

He further said Modi’s reference to Balochistan “proves Pakistan’s contention that India through its main intelligence agency RAW has been fomenting terrorism” there.

The foreign policy advisor also condemned the crackdown on Kashmiris in the past few weeks.

“There is constant curfew. These events have nothing to do with terrorism,” he said, calling the separatist campaign in Kashmir “an indigenous movement for self-determination”.

The remarks came hours after Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary invited Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to visit Islamabad for talks on Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Foreign Secretary called in the Indian High Commissioner this afternoon (15 August 2016) and handed over a letter addressed to his Indian counterpart, inviting him to visit Pakistan for talks on Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the press release read.

Also Read: On I-Day, Modi Rakes Up Balochistan, PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan

Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, the Chief Minister of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan region, also dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the province was suffering from repression and accused India of fomenting trouble there.

Zehri made the comment on Sunday, after Modi during an all-party meeting on the Kashmir situation last week, had said the time had come to expose the atrocities committed “by our neighbouring nation” in Balochistan and the areas of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation.

The move came on India’s 70th Independence day, and the release “highlights the international obligation of both the countries, India and Pakistan, to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.”

Earlier, Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria had also said that Pakistan wishes to “resolve all outstanding issues with India through dialogue.”

On 14 August, on the occasion of Pakistan’s independence day, Pakistan High Commissioner Adbul Basit had dedicated the year to Kashmir’s ‘azadi’, a clear attempt to strategically revive the long-disputed issue.

Earlier, on 9 August, Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had summoned Basit, issuing a “strong demarche” over continuing cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

The strain in ties between the two neighbouring countries escalated after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on 8 July. The valley has been in a volatile state since.