Islamabad:
In a bet renewed by regional peace, Pakistan extended an olive branch to India on Tuesday, offering to resume comprehensive conversations to solve all pending disputes between the two neighbors with nuclear weapons, including the problem of Kashmir of decades.
Speaking at a press conference in New York, the Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, reiterated the will of Pakistan for the “composite dialogue”, emphasizing that any future commitment must go beyond the issue of terrorism.
“Pakistan has been one of the greatest victims of terrorism,” said Dar, added that the offer was made in good faith and with the aim of achieving lasting peace in southern Asia.
The Foreign Minister said there could be no lasting peace in the region without resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He said that even the president of the United States, Donald Trump, had repeatedly recognized the importance of the problem.
The comments of Dar arrived after their meeting with the Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio. During the meeting, both leaders discussed regional security and contributions from Pakistan to the global war against terror. “The Rubio Secretary recognized the sacrifices of Pakistan,” said Dar.
In the Treaty of the Water of the Indo, he reaffirmed the position of Islamabad that the agreement is legally binding and cannot be unilaterally altered. He warned that any attempt in India to divert or block most of the waters of the Pakistan river would be unacceptable.
In response to a question about Israel, he made it clear that Pakistan has no plans to establish diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. He asked for the immediate fire in Gaza and reiterated the support of Pakistan for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, with al-Quds al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital.
Earlier in the day, the Foreign Minister addressed the High Level International Conference on the Pacific Agreement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the solution of two states.
In a strongly written speech, he condemned Israeli actions in Gaza and requested an urgent international intervention. “For more than 75 years, the Palestinian people have supported the occupation, displacement and denial of their fundamental rights,” said Dar. “Gaza is now a cemetery of International Law.”
He cited the murder of more than 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, as a “serious violation of international humanitarian law” and requested responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “This collective punishment must stop now,” he said.
Dar described the key demands of Pakistan that include a high immediate, unconditional and permanent fire through Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territories, complete humanitarian access without obstacles, a political and financial reinforcement for a political solution of two states to a solution of two states.
He welcomed France’s recent decision to recognize Palestine and urged other nations to do the same.
He also supported the proposal of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for an international protection mechanism for the Palestinians and promised to contribute technical and institutional assistance in areas such as public health, education and governance.
“The occupation must end and end now,” he demanded. “The best guarantee for lasting peace is freedom, self -determination and complete UN membership for Palestine.”
