Kashmir issue cannot keep on boiling: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday the settlement of Kashmir issue would have tremendous benefits of peace in the subcontinent, as he called for resolving the longstanding dispute through dialogue.

“…There is only one difference [between India and Pakistan] which is Kashmir.It has to be settled. Kashmir issue cannot keep on boiling like it is,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

“Because anything happening in Kashmir [Indian occupied Kashmir] — through a reaction to the oppression that is taking place in Kashmir — it would be palmed off on Pakistan, we would be blamed and tensions would rise as they have risen in the past,” the Prime Minister told the BBC.

Highlighting the importance of resolving Kashmir dispute for peace in the region, he said: “If we [India and Pakistan] settle Kashmir, benefits of peace are tremendous in the subcontinent.”

When asked as to what message he would like to send to the government and people of India, the Prime Minister said: “The number one task of the two governments should be how are we going to reduce poverty, and the way we reduce poverty is by settling our differences through

dialogue….”

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Wednesday Pakistan was prepared to talk to Indian leadership after general elections for the normalisation of bilateral relations and to move things forward from where they had stopped.

In an interview with leading Indian newspaper, Hindustan Times, he said diplomatic channels that were used to reduce tensions in the aftermath of Pulwama attack remained operational, albeit “in the backdrop”. However, the Pakistani leadership believed there would be no forward movement until India’s election process was completed, he added.The minister described Islamabad’s plan to release 360 Indian prisoners, who had completed their sentences, as a reflection of the desire to normalise ties with India.—APP/News Desk