London, November 5

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today rejected the idea of an “independent Kashmir”, saying it was not based on “reality”, according to a media report.

He was addressing a conference on ‘Future of Pakistan-2017’ held 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.

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On a question about “independent Kashmir”, he said “the idea is often floated around but has no reality”, Geo TV reported. “There is no support for the demand for independent Kashmir,” he said.

On ties with India, Abbasi said 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.

To another question, he said: “Though the judiciary had removed Sharif as the PM, we have left it to history to judge whether history accepts the judgment or not.” He said most of Pakistan did not agree with Sharif’s disqualification by the Supreme Court. On US-Pakistan relations, Abbasi said they should not be defined by Afghanistan alone. — PTI