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Vacate J&K parts: Krishna to Pak

New York, September 23
Stating that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has asked Pakistan to end its illegal occupation of some parts of the state before advising New Delhi.

“Kashmir is an internal matter of India,” said Krishna, who is here on a 10-day visit to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting.

Pointing out that Pakistan is in “illegal occupation of some parts of Jammu and Kashmir”, Krishna said: “It is desirable that they vacate that and then start advising India as to how to go about doing things in Kashmir.”

“We have taken certain actions in terms of assisting what needs to be done in Kashmir... An all party delegation has just gone back to Delhi and they have had wide ranging discussions across the board from all shades of opinion. So, India is fully conscious of its responsibilities... institutional mechanism and individual mechanism will be put in place so that the genuine grievances of Kashmir and the people of Kashmir will be addressed squarely and directly,” the External Affairs Minister told a TV channel.

Meanwhile, upping the ante, Pakistan today said there can be no result-oriented discussions with India on Kashmir unless New Delhi stops treating it as the country's integral part and seeking a solution within the ambit of the Constitution.

Intensifying the criticism of the situation in J&K, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit called on India to “revisit its approach and its Kashmir policy rather than trying cosmetic measures here and there because this is not going to bring about any difference as far as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is concerned.”

“Unless India takes a fresh look at its Kashmir policy, does some introspection and stops treating J&K as its integral part and stops harping on seeking a solution within the Constitution, we do not believe that we can really have any meaningful or result-oriented discussions with India on this (issue),” Basit told a weekly news briefing at Islamabad. — PTI