No decision taken about closure of airspace for India: Shah Mahmood Qureshi
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said no decision had been taken regarding restriction on airspace for India.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry had said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was mulling over a complete closure of airspace to India. “A complete ban on use of Pakistan land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in the cabinet meeting,” he had tweeted. However, the foreign minister has clarified that no decision has yet been taken in this regard.
Speaking to media on Kashmir issue, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said according to Simla agreement they were bound to resolve the Kahmir conflict bilaterally but somebody should ask Modi that if the step they took on August 5 was bilateral or unilateral.
He said a large number of police personnel in Kashmir were locals and they were avoiding crackdown in the valley. The Indian government had decided to take back weapons from police which showed gravity of the situation, he added.
The foreign minister said there was scarcity of food in the Indian occupied Kashmir. The residents of the Himalayan valley had even been barred from offering Friday prayers, he said. “The international community is no more as oblivious of the grave human rights violations as it was before,” he maintained.
Also Read: Ready to respond to any Indian false flag operation: Shah Mehmood Qureshi
The minister said if Indian blamed Pakistan of giving undue attention to the situation in Kashmir and everything was normal then observers should be allowed to visit the Indian occupied Kashmir.
“There’s no question of holding talks with India at this time. First it should lift curfew in the occupied Kashmir and stop persecution,” he said.
FM Qureshi said on the other hand British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan visited Azad Jammu and Kashmir and mingled with locals. He also relayed that a big protest was going to be held in London against Indian atrocities.
