UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2:
India and Pakistan were back to sparring on Kashmir at the UN General Assembly, with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today rejecting the contention that Jammu and Kashmir is not an integral part of India.
The war of words triggered by President Asif Ali Zardari continued after the claim of Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Raza Bashir Tarar, that Jammu and Kashmir has never been an integral part of India.
Exercising Pakistan’s ‘Right of Reply’, Tarar also maintained that Zardari’s reference to Kashmir in his speech last week seeking settlement of the issue in accordance with UN resolutions, which India had always rejected as outdated, was “not unwarranted”.
Last year, Pakistan did not make any provocative reference to Kashmir, with its Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar merely stating that Islamabad looked forward to resolving all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India.
“I did not expect that President Zardari would make a reference to Kashmir and once a reference from Pakistan at the highest level in the UN is made, then it is certainly the responsibility of India to state its stated position,” Krishna said.
Krishna, in his address to the 193-member General Assembly yesterday, said that “an unwarranted” reference to Jammu and Kashmir was made from the UN podium. “… We wish to make it abundantly clear that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.”
Krishna today said his remark on Kashmir at the UNGA should be read in the right sequence. “Read this (reference to Kashmir) in the sequence in which it emerges,” he said, adding he had to respond to Zardari’s speech.
Krishna added that he had not said anything new regarding Kashmir in his UNGA address.
“This is the position which India has taken over decades so I reiterated that position so that it would be some kind of response to what the President of Pakistan told this General Assembly,” he said, adding that “nothing more” needs to be read to the statements on the issue either from him or Zardari.
When asked whether the issue of Kashmir being raked up at international fora like the UN could be an irritant to efforts being made by the two countries to normalise their ties, Krishna said, “We will continue our dialogue with Pakistan and the road map has been drawn and we will try to stick to the road map and let us see how it go.”
India will show patience and perseverance in dealing with the 26/11 case with Pakistan with which it has a “difficult relationship”, Krishna said .
“In a difficult relationship like the one we have had with Pakistan, one should have lots of patience. India is known for its patience and perseverance. Patiently we will move in the direction in which we want,” Krishna said.
His remarks came when he was asked whether there was growing frustration with the slow pace at which the Mumbai attacks trial is moving in Pakistan.
Krishna had earlier last month held crucial talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in Islamabad, where he had said that Pakistan has promised action against the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
India has stressed that it has given “more than adequate” evidence to Pakistan to enable it to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 attack to justice and has sought a speedy end to the trial.
On the likelihood of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visiting Pakistan this year, Krishna said the timing of the visit is yet to be worked out.
“The question of Prime Minister Singh’s visit was never seriously explored. It was mentioned in a press conference” when he was in Islamabad early last month, he said.
While both Zardari and former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have extended an invitation to Singh to visit Pakistan, Krishna said a visit of such importance needs lots of preparations.
“As and when those preparations are complete I think we will advise the Prime Minister to visit Pakistan,” he added. (PTI)
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