Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has once again raked up Kashmir and urged PM Narendra Modi to hold “sincere” talks to resolve the crisis.
Sharif, who is on a two-day UAE visit, said that Pakistan has already fought three wars with India, which has only pushed the country into more poverty and misery.
Speaking with the Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya, Pakistan’s PM said, “What is happening in Kashmir should be stopped.” According to him, Kashmir is a “burning issue”, and India should take this matter in a sincere manner.
“My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir,” said Pakistan PM. He also said that wars have only increased misery, poverty and unemployment on both ends.
This is not the first time Sharif has raised the Kashmir issue on an international platform. Last year, in September, the Pakistan PM made similar statements during the 77th UN General Assembly session.
Sharif expressed his desire to “live peacefully” with India, and said that resources should not be wasted in wars. Furthermore, he urged the UAE leadership to play the role of a mediator in order to bring India to the table.
“India is our neighbour country, we are neighbours. Let’s be very blunt, even if we are not neighbours by choice we are there forever and it is up to us for us to live peacefully and progress or quarrel with each other and waste time and resources. That is up to us,” said Sharif during his interview.
“We are nuclear powers, armed to the teeth and if God forbid a war breaks out who will live to tell what happened,” he added.
India considers Kashmir an integral and inalienable part of the country, and has on several occasions categorically denied talks on this particular issue, reminding Islamabad that there can be no diplomatic progress unless the country stops aiding cross-border terrorism.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, who has repeatedly ignored India’s concerns about terrorism, faced a fresh jolt on Monday after the United Nations Security Council listed Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist under its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
Pakistan-based Makki, who is the brother-in-law of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (Lashkar-e-Taiba) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, is one of the main accused in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Makki is also responsible for inciting violence in Kashmir Valley.
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