Pakistan closes Samjhauta Express, Kartarpur project continues

ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday announced that Pakistan had closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India.

Addressing a press conference here, Sheikh Rasheed said the bogies of Samjhauta Express will now be used for passengers travelling on the occasion of Eid. “Two special trains will run on Eid. We will try to improve the train schedule, timing, coaches and hygiene. The addition of 38 trains has enabled us to pick seven million more passengers and earn Rs10 billion,” Sheikh Rasheed said.

He added, “Till I am the railways minister, Samjhauta Express train service will not operate.” He said all those who bought the Samjhauta Express tickets will be given a refund and there will be no deduction at all. "The refund can be collected from the Railways Divisional Superintendent office in Lahore," he said, adding that the next three to four months are very important. “Pakistan is a proponent of peace and does not want war. If war is waged on us, it will be the last one,” the minister warned.

He said the decision taken by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to annex Kashmir is highly unwise and such decisions change the course of history. He said the hearts of Kashmiris and Pakistanis beat in unison.

“I know Kashmir from inside. Modi’s governance ends at Lal Chowk in Srinagar,” he added.

To a question Sheikh Rashid said that the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak would be celebrated in a historic way in Pakistan. He said that necessary arrangements are being made by a committee headed by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar.

Meanwhile, Pakistan ruled out any military option after India unilaterally stripped Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) of its special autonomy by revoking Article 370 from its constitution.

“We’re not looking at military option. We have decided to remain vigilant and take safeguards against any aggression. Don’t we reserve a right to respond in case of any aggression? Instead we have decided to go back to the UN Security Council to challenge this Indian position, which is morally incorrect,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said during a news conference on Thursday.

Pakistan says that they are Muslims, hence the word “fear” does not exist in its dictionary and it does not fear anyone or anything except Allah. Without giving out the dates, the minister said that he would be visiting China to take into confidence the Chinese leadership over recent events in IHK.

However, notwithstanding the latest developments, Pakistan’s Kartarpur initiative shall continue as, it says it respects all religions and would continue the project.

While reports have been circulating since Wednesday night that Pakistan had closed its airspace, no government official commented until the minister was asked. “This is fake news,” he responded.

The spokesman gave further details by saying, “On India-bound flights, I have been informed that this NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was enforced from July 23 to Aug 05 is to meet flying training requirements and better air traffic management.

Qureshi also clarified that Pakistan's commitment to build Kartarpur Corridor will continue unaffected by recent lows in bilateral relations with India.

"We respect all religions and do not want to become a hurdle in the way of people-to-people contact," he said, urging the Indian Sikh community to ask their government whether it is willing to see the project through.

Challenging India's claim that the Kashmir move was its internal matter, Qureshi said former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had declared countless times making at least 14 solemn promises and commitments that "the future of Kashmir is going to be decided finally by the goodwill and pleasure of her people".

"The goodwill and pleasure of this (Indian) parliament is of no importance in this matter," the minister quoted Nehru as further saying.

In an address to his nation in 1947, Nehru had said: "We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. We will not, and cannot, back out of it."

According to Qureshi, Nehru had told the Indian constituent assembly on one occasion that, "As soon as peace and order have been established, Kashmir should decide of accession by plebiscite or referendum under international auspices such as the United Nations."

"If however, the people of Kashmir do not wish to remain with us, let them go by all means. We will not keep them against their will however painful it may be to us. I want to stress that it is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir," the minister quoted the former Indian premier as saying in one instance. He said Pakistan and India are bound to the UN, not Modi.

Qureshi also briefed the heads of mission/ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps based in Islamabad, rejecting the Indian decision to try to change disputed status of IHK.

Qureshi also worked the phones on Thursday and made a call to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

Qureshi urged the EU to take note of the rising tension in IHK and told her that India’s unilateral action to change the special constitutional status of IHK is a violation of UNSC resolutions. He said the revocation of Articles 35-A and 370 is an attempt by the Indian government to change the demography of IHK.

“Revocation of Articles 35-A and 370 is an attempt to change the demography of IHK, India is neither abiding by international treaties nor is it ready to respect bilateral agreements,” said the minister.

He added that the international community should press India to uphold international law and resolve the Kashmir issue under the UNSC resolutions and according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Qureshi ruled out that any suspension of bilateral trade with India would impact its trade with Afghanistan, saying: "We do not want to put our Afghan brothers into any difficulty."

The minister once again cautioned the international community that India could stage a "new false-flag operation".

"It is very likely a drama like 'Pulwama-2' could be staged to divert the world's attention from the oppression,” he added.

Pakistan says that the international community has taken a serious note of what is going on in IHK and its efforts to awaken the international community would be a continuous process where some responses have come and other will come in due course of time.

At the weekly media briefing at the Foreign Office, the spokesman shrugged aside comments from the Indian ministry of external affairs which asked Pakistan to review its decision of downgrading bilateral relations.

“Yes, I have seen the response. Pakistan categorically rejects the Indian contention that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India. Jammu and Kashmir remains on the agenda of UNSC and is a disputed territory. Its final resolution has to be made under a UN-administered free and fair plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiri people. We will give a detailed response soon,” said the spokesman.

To a query, the spokesman said the foreign secretary received the US delegation Wednesday which included Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells and Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Rembrandt.

“The wide-ranging discussions focused on prevailing situation in IHK, Pakistan-US relationship, Afghan peace and reconciliation process, and implementation of National Action Plan and FATF action plan,” said the spokesman.

The foreign secretary also drew attention to the prevailing human rights and security situation in IHK, while underlying the importance of preventing violations of UNSC resolutions by India, which pose serious threat to peace and stability in South Asia.

“It was agreed to build on the positive momentum in bilateral ties keeping in view the shared vision of leadership of two countries,” added the spokesman.