Prime Minister Imran Khan link hasruled out the possibility of normalization of fraught trade and diplomaticrelations with longtime rival India, saying it will be tantamount to”betraying” Kashmiris.
“Normalizing ties with India at this point means betraying Kashmiris.Pakistan will never compromise on Kashmiris’ blood,” Khan said in a livetelephonic conversation with citizens.
Stalled talks, he said, can only be resumed if New Delhi reverses itsscrapping of the long-standing semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir.
On August 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and otherrelated provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the country’s onlyMuslim-majority state with its autonomy. It was also split into twofederally administered territories.
Simultaneously, it locked the region down, detained thousands of people,imposed movement restrictions and enforced a communications blackout.
Islamabad, in turn, suspended trade ties and downgraded diplomaticrelations with New Delhi.
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Khan’s remarks came amid reports that the top intelligence officials of thetwo nuclear-armed neighbors met in the United Arab Emirates in January thisyear in an attempt to stem heightened tensions between the two sides.
Last month, UAE’s ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba confirmed that AbuDhabi was mediating between New Delhi and Islamabad to help them reach a“healthy and functional” relationship.
Addressing a virtual session with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution,Otaiba said his country had a role behind the recent cease-fire at the Lineof Control (LoC), the de-facto border that divides Kashmir between Indiaand Pakistan, which could get relations back to a “healthy level.”
In March, the two militaries agreed to honor the 2003 cease-fire along theLoC, followed by an exchange of letters between the two premiers, which waswidely viewed as an outcome of the reported backdoor diplomacy was beingheld with New Delhi.
