WASHINGTON: Pakistan ambassador to US Asad Khan has said India has turned occupied Kashmir into the largest prison of the world.
He said In an interview with Bloomberg news editors and reporters in Washington.
He said Pakistan would not take any step which may pose any risk to world peace.
He held US recognizes Occupied Kashmir as disputed territory. A solid statement should come from US against revocation of autonomy of Indian Held Kashmir by India.
He remarked the U.S. could do and the U.S. must do more to help defuse this situation and to inject some more sanity on the Indian side.
He underlined there is complete lockdown in place in Occupied Kashmir, US can ask India to withdraw its steps. US can play a vital role in resolution of Kashmir conundrum.
The ambassador maintained that the world has observed Pakistan’s restraint and responsibility, even when India violated the state’s sovereignty by sending their jets following the Pulwama incident.
“Even in the face of that kind of aggression, our response was very measured, dictated by restraint,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to US had stressed upon efforts for peace.
Khan asserted that however under the current crisis escalation from the Indian side needed to be deescalated in order for the neighbouring countries to engage in dialogue.
In his response to “what would like Pakistan to see from the U.S. in terms of responding to Narendra Modi’s decision as the State Department has not addressed the legality of the move yet”, he stated that the State Department Spokesperson has clearly said that there is no change or shift in the U.S. policy to consider Kashmir as the disputed territory.
Pakistan is concerned over the recent moves of India as it has unilaterally altered the status of Occupied Kashmir, he stated. 9 lac Indian forces have been deployed on 12 million Kashmiri population in Indian Held Kashmir.
Pakistan is pursuing a principled stand on Kashmir problem, he added.
He underscored India has not accepted President Trump offer for mediation on Kashmir issue.
“We hope friendly countries will play their role to deescalate tension, he observed.
