No change in Pakistan's position on Kashmir, says Bilawal in first visit to India n Urges New Delhi to revoke illegal acts of 5 August 2019 to ensure conducive environment for talks n Says India should not hold sports hostage to its foreign policy, politics n India is convening G-20 Leaders' Summit in disputed territory n What Kulbhushan Jadhav was doing in Pakistan, Bilawal asks India to explain.
GOA /ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Friday ruled out any change in Pakistan's position on the Kashmir issue. The onus is on India to build a conducive environment for talks, he added.
Addressing a news conference in Goa in India, he said his visit to India is solely aimed at expressing Pakistan's commitment with the SCO. He, however, said it has been Pakistan Peoples Party's consistent stance that Islamabad and New Delhi should have good routine bilateral relations.
The foreign minister further said that Pakistan Peoples Party always advocated the normalisation of ties with India but the latter's unilateral action of revoking a special status of Kashmir had undermined the environment. The unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, had not only violated international laws and the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions but also the bilateral agreements, he added.
The Indian violation, he said, had created a trust deficit as the country could unilaterally violate the bilateral agreements in the future too.
Asked about the Indian decision of hosting the G20 summit in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), the foreign minister said, “Obviously we condemn it and at the time we will give such a response that it will be remembered.”
“It is a show of Indian arrogance to the world that to hell with the international law, to hell with the United Nations Security Council resolutions, to hell with any bilateral agreements, India will hold their event in Kashmir.”
‘SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION’
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also stressed a collective action by the regional countries under Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to jointly address the common issues, particularly climate change, poverty and terrorism. He said geopolitics must not affect the commitment to address the challenges and learn lessons for the collective good.
“The solution to our collective challenges should be collective action, not a divided reaction… We must isolate these issues from hyper-partisan geopolitics if we are to succeed,” he said in his address at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, held in the resort city.
Chairman of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, Dr. S. Jaishankar, the foreign ministers of SCO member states, the Secretary General of SCO, and Director, Executive Committee of SCO-RATS attended the meeting. Bilawal said Pakistan considers the SCO a key regional platform comprising countries, which are bound together by longstanding historical, cultural, civilisational and geographical ties.
“Our excuse cannot be we were too divided to put up a fight!,” he said. He highlighted Pakistan’s vision of enhanced regional economic connectivity and win-win cooperation.
The foreign minister said the climate crisis posed an existential threat to humanity and proposed the establishment of a Joint Working Group in SCO on Climate Change.
He mentioned that Pakistan recently faced the greatest climate catastrophe and stressed that the planet could only be saved from the ravages of climate change if the international community worked in unison.
He emphasized holding the developed world up to their commitment to providing US $ 100 billion annually for climate finance. On connectivity, he said Pakistan looked forward to hosting the ‘Conference on Transport Connectivity for Regional Prosperity’ in September 2023.
He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could be a force multiplier for regional connectivity, adding that the route CPEC offered all countries to take the journey further and connect the dots towards full regional economic integration.
He congratulated Iran, which would soon become the newest member of the SCO family and welcomed the accession of Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates as new Dialogue Partners.
He said poverty still plagued this region and mentioned that Pakistan was proud of the internationally acclaimed Benazir Income Support Program which ushered in a silent revolution of poverty alleviation together with women’s empowerment.
He said the establishment of the Special Working Group on Poverty Alleviation proposed by Pakistan would be a step in that direction. Bilawal termed the collective security of the region a joint responsibility and said terrorism continued to threaten global security.
“Let’s not get caught up in weaponizing terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring,” he said, and recalled that he spoke as the son whose mother was assassinated at the hands of terrorists. “I feel the pain of this loss, empathize with victims across the world in a way most can’t.”
‘CONFLATING NON-STATE ACTORS WITH STATE ACTORS’
He said Pakistan was firmly committed to being part of regional and global efforts for eradicating this menace that required a comprehensive and collective approach to address the root cause as well as the threats posed by specific groups.“It requires that we let this challenge unite us to fight it rather than divide us to become its victim. Our success requires us to isolate this issue from geo-political partisanship,” he said.
He said given that many SCO members confront the menace of terrorism, often from the same terrorist groups, the SCO RATS needs to be further strengthened to effectively address the growing threats to peace and security.
“We must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors. Condemn all forms of terrorism including state-sponsored terrorism,” he pointed out.
On Afghanistan, he called upon the international community to meaningfully engage with the Interim Afghan Government to better understand and influence the course of events, especially on girls’ right to education and security.
He called on the Interim Afghan authorities to uphold their commitment to not allowing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism.
“A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is a key not only to regional integration and economic cooperation but also to global peace and stability,” he said.
Bilawal said Pakistan remained committed to multilateralism and continues to play leading role at all international forums including the United Nations, for forging friendly relations among nations and supporting the peaceful settlement of longstanding international disputes.
He commended China’s recent role in bridging differences between Saudi Arabia and Iran and said that “When great powers play the role of peacemaker, we can unlock the potential of peace while paving the way for greater cooperation, regional integration, and economic opportunities for our peoples.”
He expressed Pakistan’s unwavering support and commitment to the SCO’s goals and objectives, saying that SCO represented the future with 40 percent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the world’s GDP.
Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto told The Hindu in an exclusive interview during his visit to Goa that India’s decision to reorganise IIOJK in August 2019 has made it “difficult” for those in Pakistan who advocated engagement in the past. The restoration of statehood to the union territory could be “one step”. However, he said that the action was the “only thing” holding up India-Pakistan talks at present, and that he had not requested any bilateral meeting with his SCO host, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as a result.
He also said that the decision on whether Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif will travel to India in July, to join Russian and Chinese Presidents and other leaders invited by PM Narendra Modi to Delhi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit is still not made, but Pakistan is committed to the SCO process.
“There is genuine willingness on the Pakistan side, to address all issues and resolve all issues through dialogue. But the actions on August 5 really slammed the door shut on that process,” he said. “We would like India, the Indian government to create an environment conducive to talks and as soon as we return to the status quo of August 4 2019, I believe we can engage in a meaningful dialogue.”
Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also said Pakistan could not engage in any meaningful dialogue with India till the latter reviews its unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019.
In an interview with ‘India Today’, Foreign Minister said Pakistan wants to combat the menace of terrorism because it has caused the largest number of casualties among any other SCO countries. He asked India to explain what Kulbhushan Jadhav was doing in Pakistan, carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan, does it not come under the cross border terrorism?
He said the victims of the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing had yet to see any justice