Thaindian News

Islamabad, Jun.9 (ANI): A day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi lauded Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s peace offer in Kashmir, the Foreign Office has raised questions over New Delhi’s sincerity over resolving the decades old ‘K’ issue.

“I think the speech made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was very visionary speech. I welcome that speech in Kashmir and I think its a good offer we should welcome it,” Qureshi had said in Istanbul.

However, back in Islamabad, the foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit showcased the ‘doubletalk’ characteristic of his country saying that only the removal of ‘black laws’ such as the Armed Forces’ Special Act and Public Safety Act in Kashmir would prove India’s seriousness to end the long pending issue.

Talking to the BBC, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that India should pullout troops from Kashmir, which could prove pivotal in resolving the Kashmir crisis.

He stressed that the people of Kashmir wanted the right to self-determination, which, he said, was eminent from the ‘freedom struggle’ in the region.

“So, it is a basic question whether India is serious in settling the Kashmir issue or is just pretending a change through visits by its political leadership to Srinagar,” Basit said, while referring to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s two day visit to the valley.

During his visit, Dr. Singh had already made it clear that there was a massive trust deficit between both neighbours, which was a major hurdle in resuming the peace process.

Basit also admitted that the trust deficit existed since the partition in 1947, and that it was important to bridge that gap in order to tackle the menace of terrorism and resolve all pending issues.

“If they (India) talk about terrorism, which is also Pakistan’s major problem, mutual cooperation between both neighbouring nations was a must to tackle this menace,” he said. (ANI)