india

Updated: Sep 20, 2019 23:12 IST

In a huge embarrassment to Pakistan, the Sri Lankan government on Friday dismissed news reports claiming Speaker of Sri Lankan Parliament Karu Jayasuriya had expressed serious concern over the alleged human rights violations by Indian security forces in Kashmir.

The news report was based on Pakistan’s claim that Sri Lankan Speaker Jayasuriya had made the remarks during a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Saleem Mandviwalla, in Colombo.

“Speaker of Sri Lankan Parliament Karu Jayasuriya has expressed serious concern over the human rights violations by Indian forces,” said a tweet by Pakistan’s External Publicity Wing.

In a swift rebuttal, the Sri Lankan government clarified that Jayasuriya did not say anything and had merely listened to his Pakistani counterpart without expressing any such views on the issue.

“The media report regarding the discussions between the Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya and visiting Senator from Pakistan Saleem Mandviwalla is misleading and tendentious,” the Sri Lankan government media release said.

According to the Sri Lankan government statement, Karu Jayasuriya emphasized the need to resolve the issue through “dialogues and parliamentary diplomacy” and emphasized the need to “sustain peace in the region” at all times.

After the Indian government scrapped Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, Pakistan has attempted to internationalize the issue at various global forums. India has maintained that the changes done in Kashmir are an internal matter and made it clear that Pakistan has no locus standi.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also said that a nuclear war with India was a possibility in the wake of the heightened tensions between the neighbours.

Earlier, Pakistan had used the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session to target India and asked the UN body to ensure an end to restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi hit back saying that the Pakistani leadership was trying to promote cross-border terrorism.