Discussions between India and Pakistan would normally be seen as good news. But right now, New Delhi appears to be using Pakistan’s invitation for discussion on the Kashmir situation as a means to underscore its own position on the issue. In asking India to hold foreign secretary-level talks with us over Kashmir, Pakistan wanted the full spectrum of outstanding issues to be discussed, ranging from the occupation and the recent human rights abuses to the future status of the disputed territory. India’s response should be seen as a rebuff. It may have agreed to accept Pakistan’s invitation but has said it will only talk about supposed cross-border terrorism in the context of Kashmir. This reply may be in keeping with India’s continued insistence that the resistance in Kashmir is being orchestrated by Pakistani militant groups – but it bears little relation to reality. Pakistan has consistently held that the insurgency in Kashmir is entirely indigenous and a response to the human rights outrages committed by Indian forces. By making it about Pakistan, India is hoping to distract the international community from its own actions. Why then did India even agree to hold these talks, knowing that Pakistan has no option but to reject the parameters of these talks? Likely, it is trying to placate the international community. A US State Department spokesman called on India and Pakistan to hold talks and now India can act as if it has tried to do so in good faith while Pakistan is the stumbling block – even though the opposite is true.
It is ironic that for many years India’s complaint about Pakistan was that it was unwilling to hold expansive talks that covered a range of issues. Now it is Pakistan that wants to talk without pre-conditions and India which is stymieing attempts to improve diplomatic ties. India has also frequently referred to the Simla Agreements, which stipulate that the Kashmir issue must be resolved bilaterally, as a way of violating UN resolutions on Kashmir. Now it is not only ignoring the UN but also refusing to fully discuss Kashmir bilaterally. Pakistan’s pleas for the world to recognise the horrors being perpetrated in Kashmir by the Indians usually fall on deaf ears but we must not allow India to act as the reasonable actor in this dispute. In this whirl of diplomatic language, which from the Indian side of the border continues to carry a high degree of animosity, it is important to remember that we cannot simply allow the atrocities in Kashmir to continue. What is vital is for Pakistan to draw more countries from around the globe into this issue. The only talks we should agree to on Kashmir are unrestricted ones.https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/143561-Terms-for-talks
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