Islamabad:Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has dared India to come to the dialogue table with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute if it is so sure about its stance and standing on the matter.
"India did not pay heed to Prime Minister Imran Khan's offer for peace talks. The country instead took measures that further escalated the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir," he said.
Qureshi claimed that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute, urging that use of force is not the solution to resolve the longstanding issue between Pakistan and India.
"India has been suppressing the rights of Kashmiris and taking atrocious steps against them for decades," he alleged.
"Kashmir has turned into a flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed neighbours," he added.
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Presenting Pakistan's stance on the matter, Qureshi said that the country "demonstrated to the global community with its actions that Islamabad desires peace and stability in the region."
"Economic stability is linked to peace. The investment would only come to the region if it is peaceful," Qureshi said, adding that regional peace is based on a resolution of the Kashmir dispute as per the "desires and aspirations of the Kashmiri people."
Lashing out at India on the issue of protesting farmers, Qureshi said that the Modi government has not been able to suppress the voice of the protesting farmers.
"Entire India is endorsing their voice," he claimed.
Experts believe that Pakistan's reiteration of its stance on Kashmir and targeting India with accusations of human rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir is linked with the new administration of President Joe Biden in the US and with India's intentions to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Pakistan has urged the newly-elected US administration to deal with a "changed Pakistan" and India. On the other hand, Pakistan has strongly opposed India's attempt to become part of the UNSC, as it would weaken Islamabad's position on Kashmir at the global platform of the United Nations going forward.
IANS
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