ISLAMABAD: Ignoring India’s opposition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan will hold dialogue with Kashmiri separatists to take them into confidence before engaging in peace talks with India. “It is our fundamental belief that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue.
My government started dialogue with India but it cancelled the scheduled talks between the foreign secretaries,” he said addressing the Kashmir Council in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He said “before starting dialogue with India, I have decided to consult the Kashmiri leaders”. Sharif’s comments came ahead of SAARC summit next week in Nepal which will be attended by him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also said India has always exhibited its traditional stubbornness on the Kashmir issue. He said it was wrong to dub the struggle of Kashmiris as terrorism.
