Islamabad: India will only take up the issue of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, the area under illegal occupation of Pakistan, in its discussions over Kashmir with its neighbour, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T C A Raghavan said in Islamabad today. The view comes soon after both countries decided to move ahead with peace talks afresh.
The remarks are significant as they come ahead of the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks scheduled for next month. Moreover, the issue could also prove a stumbling block in the proposed 'Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue' that both sides agreed upon.
"The first application to the UN was moved by India and it was on the grounds that a part of the state, which had acceded to India, is now under the illegal occupation of the Pakistan Army," Raghavan said, giving a historical perspective of the Kashmir dispute while delivering a lecture here.
Read Also: Talks with Pakistan on the basis of trust: Sushma Swaraj
Although the comments do indicate India's willingness to discuss the contentious Kashmir issue with Pakistan, which also forms part of the joint statement issued by both countries last week, it will only be Pakistan-controlled Kashmir that India wants a dialogue on.
"So when you say what is it that India is going to discuss or what is it discussing, it is really, if you ask most Indians, and what is our position it is the part of that state which is still under the control of Pakistan," he said during the lecture at the Centre for Security Studies, a private think-tank in the capital.
Raghavan's remarks came just days after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit here during which she called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and met Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. After the meetings, the two countries decided to re-engage under the 'Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue'.
The Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet next month in Delhi to work out the details of the dialogue.
(With inputs from PTI)
