Says war with India not an option, talks only way forward

Pakistan Prime Minister ShahidKhaqanAbbasi has rejected the idea of an “independent Kashmir”, saying it was not based on “reality”, according to a media report on Monday.

Abbasi was addressing a conference ‘Future of Pakistan 2017’at the London School of Economics’ South Asia Centre here.

After his address, the Prime Minister responded to a range of questions on topics from Afghanistan, civil-military ties, disqualification of his predecessor Nawaz Sharif, to relations with India and the Kashmir issue.

On a question about “independent Kashmir”, the Prime Minister said that “the idea is often floated around but has no reality”, Geo TV reported.

“There is no support for the demand for independent Kashmir,” he claimed.

Talking about ties with India, Abbasi said that relations between the two countries cannot improve till the Kashmir issue is resolved.

“Talks are the only way forward, without talks no quantum change is possible,” he said.

Abbasi said that war is not an option with India and that only talks can resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

“Kashmir is the core issue with India. Until that is resolved, Pakistan-India relations will remain tense. We are always open to talks at any level and talks are the way forward. War is not an option,” Abbasi said.

Highlighting India’s Cold Start Doctrine among recent developments, Abbasi said that Pakistan had a “deterrent” in place.

“We have a deterrent to that (Cold Start Doctrine) but I don’t think deterrents where both sides are nuclear powers is a solution to any problem. The only solution is continued talks,” the Pakistani leader noted.

He, however, expressed little hope of any significant movement with talks between the countries as both prepared for elections—Pakistan next year and India the year after.

“Any expectation of a great initiative is probably misplaced,” Abbasi said.

The central message of his keynote address at the conference was that the world must acknowledge Pakistan as the country fighting “the largest war on terror in the world.”

“Pakistan is fighting terror for the world and we are committed to fighting this menace,” he asserted.

Giving a snapshot of the country’s foreign policy and relations with global powers, Abbasi claimed that there was a greater understanding of Pakistan’s role in the war on terror in the US and that Pakistan-US ties must not be seen only through the prism of Afghanistan. PTI