KARACHI: Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif believes that Pakistan has not taken any concrete step regarding India’s abrogating Article 370 and 35 A. To his response, Prime Minister Imran Khan had wondered if Pakistan should attack India or what. Here the question arises that what options have Pakistan got to stop India from this and if this could affect the fresh peace efforts in Afghanistan.

Former foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed said India was preparing for this day for the last 10 years and the measures it had taken now in Kashmir revealed its true face to the world. He said when the United States President Donald Trump offered mediation over Kashmir, he had said that Pakistan should not become pompous on this.

Talking to BBC Urdu, the ex-foreign secretary said Pakistan’s aggravated political situation gave courage to India to take such a bold step.

“Pakistan has always been right on its Kashmir stance and the Pakistani government without wasting a single minute started taking those steps which it was obliged to do. Pakistan has written to the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to apprise the world bodies about the ongoing situation,” he said.

However, Shamshad Ahmed rued over ineffectiveness of the UN organization. He said in reality it could not even fulfill its obligations under the charter, however it (traditionally) protected its resolutions, therefore Pakistan should seek its assistance for that.

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He said India’s decision had no effect on the UN resolution and we hope that the world body would take action to stop Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from illegitimate actions.

“Modi has shown his ill-mentality and he does not realize that Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint,” he said.

Link between Kashmir situation, Afghan peace process

It is not the first time that the US has thrown Pakistan under the bus on Kashmir conflict. In 2008, as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama had said the US required to help Pakistan to fulfill its goals in Afghanistan. He had also said that he would like to help resolve Kashmir issue. But after he got elected as president, Mumbai blasts took place which could be easily blamed on the US as after that it did not talk about resolving Kashmir issue, the foreign secretary maintained.

He said when Trump had made offer for mediation it had become clear that something wrong was going to happen in Kashmir.

On the other hand, Najmuddin Sheikh said India knew it very well that whatever it was doing held no legitimacy. He said it was an international dispute and the UN resolutions were evident on it. He said at the time when India did not talk to Pakistan even then it said that it abided by the Simla Agreement.

He said even those Kashmiri politicians who had compromised with India termed this revocation an illegal occupation of the territory. He said the more India would use force, the more it will face resistance.

The former foreign secretary said Pakistan should take up this matter with the UN and maintain Kashmir dispute’s international status in collaboration with its friendly countries. He said whatever Pakistan should do, it should be very carefully thought out as India would try to blame Pakistan of intrusion.