ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had an “important role” to play in urging India to halt and reverse what he called its “illegal actions” in Indian-administered Kashmir.The PM said this during a meeting with visiting dignitaries, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.The ministers met Khan in Islamabad and committed to defusing tensions between Pakistan and arch-rival India over the disputed Kashmir region.
Recently, tensions have once again flared between Pakistan and India after New Delhi on August 5 revoked the constitutional autonomy of the part of the disputed region of Kashmir that it administers and moved to quell objections by shutting down communications and clamping down on local leaders.Pakistan has reacted with fury to India’s decision, cutting trade and transport ties and expelling India’s ambassador. Islamabad has also since reached out to important world powers to apprise them of the situation in Kashmir and ask for help in insuring the rights of the region’s Muslim-majority population.Pakistan and India both govern parts of Kashmir but claim the territory in full.“The international community has the responsibility to urge India to halt and reverse its illegal actions and aggressive policies and postures,” Khan’s office said in a statement, adding that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had “an important role in this regard.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan in Islamabad on Sept. 4, 2019. (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs )
Quoting the visiting ministers, the statement said the Saudi and UAE ministers “fully understood the anguish of the people of Pakistan over the recent developments and were concerned over the worsening humanitarian situation” in Indian-administered Kashmir.“Both countries would remain engaged to help address the current challenges, defuse tensions, and promote an environment of peace and security,” the statement said.During the meeting, PM Khan highlighted Pakistan’s deep concern over the worsening human rights in Kashmir “because of the month-long complete lockdown and communications blackout in the occupied territory,” the statement said. “The Prime Minister stressed the importance of immediate lifting of curfew, removal of restrictions on movement and communications, and respect for the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people.”The visit by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE comes after a number of phone conversations between PM Khan and the Saudi and UAE crown princes since August 5.The visiting ministers also held a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi whose office said in a statement that the current situation in Kashmir and the security situation in the region came under discussion between the foreign ministers.Qureshi appraised his counterparts of the latest situation in Kashmir, stressing that Indian actions were in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and international law, and posed a serious threat to peace and security.“India has made hostage millions of Kashmiris for the last one month,” the statement said. Qureshi also thanked the visiting ministers for the support of the Organization of Islamic Conference and welcomed their firm stance on rights violations in Kashmir.The Saudi and UAE ministers are also scheduled to meet Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during their visit and discuss bilateral relations between the countries and the regional situation, including the ongoing conflict in Kashmir.Javed Hafeez, a former Pakistani diplomat, said it was significant that the two ministers had come together.“Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have brotherly relations with Pakistan and friendly relations with India,” he said. “So they can have a lot of influence on India.”“They [visiting ministers] will listen to what Pakistan says. Then there is a possibility that they may go to India as well and talk to them in order to bring the temperature of Indo-Pak bilateral relations down,” Hafeez added. “They will try to resolve the matter through some kind of arrangement in which Pakistan and India can talk to each other”.
