Page 11 - Pakistan Link - November 10, 2017

PAKISTAN NOVEMBER 10, 2017 – PAKISTAN LINK – P11

Pakistan Welcomes US Mediation in Indian Govt. Told to Investigate 2,080

Easing Tension with India: Khawaja Unmarked Graves in Held Kashmir

Islamabad: Pakistan be-
lieves in regional peace and
welcomes mediation by the
United States in easing ten-
sion with India, Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif said
on Monday.
Addressing the fourth
round of US-Pakistan Bi-
lateral Dialogue in Islam-
abad, Asif said Pakistan has
always preferred a compre-
hensive dialogue with its
South Asian neighbor that
could contribute to peace in
the region, Radio Pakistan
reported.
The dialogue, titled
‘Convergence amid Diver-
gence: Identifying Pathways
to Cooperation in a Chal-
lenging Environment’, was
called to deliberate on ways Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and US ambassador David Hale attend the 4th Round of the The commission acknowledged the presence of the 2,080 unmarked graves and asked
the government for a comprehensive investigation to be completed in six months
US-Pakistan bilateral dialogue in Islamabad
to ease the strain in bilateral
Pak-US ties. India’s important contribu- The foreign minister gion which has suffered for Srinagar: The state-run human the human rights commission and
Commenting on the tions to Afghan stability. said self-defense and self- long due to instability in Af- rights commission in India-held instead, continues to avoid an in-
new US strategy for South But he also lamented that interest are Pakistan’s fore- ghanistan, he said. Kashmir, on information from a vestigation on the pretext it would
Asia and the role accorded India “makes billions of dol- most priority and the coun- Asif said intelligence human rights group, has told the lead to a “law and order problem”
to India in the policy, the lars in trade with the United try will not allow its soil to sharing is vital for improv- government to investigate at least in Kashmir.
minister said US has assured States.” be used against any other ing border management 2,080 unmarked mass graves dis- Similarly, in 2008, human
Pakistan that New Delhi’s Trump had said he country. with Afghanistan, adding covered in border areas of the res- rights group International Peo-
role in Afghanistan would wanted India to provide He said Pakistan is that the US should share tive region, reported Al Jazeera on ple’s Tribunal on Human Rights
be limited to providing eco- more economic assistance ready to extend all possible intelligence timely so that Friday. and Justice had found unmarked
nomic assistance to the war- and development to Af- cooperation to achieve the Pakistan can take action. According to the Doha-based graves containing several thou-
torn country. ghanistan. goal of peace and stability Talking to reporters, media network, the Association of sand bodies during a three-year
Pakistan has repeatedly ‘US should share in- in Afghanistan. In keeping the minister said differences Parents of Disappeared Persons survey of dozens of villages in In-
expressed concern over In- telligence with Pakistan’: with these efforts, Pakistan in Pak-US bilateral ties are (APDP), a human rights group dia-held Kashmir. At the time, the
dia’s role in the US strategy, Pakistan’s counter-terror- has reached out to regional only misconceptions which in Kashmir, told the commission group had calculated that 8,000
saying its security concerns ism efforts have prevented countries and forums like are being removed by con- there were 3,844 unmarked graves people had gone missing in the
in the region should be rec- “countless” militant attacks South Asian Association tinued dialogue. — 2,717 in Poonch and 1,127 in 20-year separatist insurgency.
ognized. in the US and Europe, Asif for Regional Cooperation Asif added that re- Rajouri — along the contentious
While announcing his said, adding that Pakistan (Saarc). cent high-level exchanges Line of Control (LoC) dividing Pakistani Consulate
strategy for the region, US and US both have a lot of Saarc should be activat- between the two countries the disputed territory between Staffer Shot Dead
President Donald Trump work to do in fighting nega- ed and steps should be taken have helped relieve the ten- Pakistan and India.
had said the US appreciates tive perceptions. to promote trade in the re- sion in the relationship. The commission acknowl- in Afghanistan
edged the presence of the 2,080
Anti-Pakistan London Cab Ads Being Removed unmarked graves, Al Jazeera re- Kabul: A mem-
ber of Pakistan’s
ported, asking the government for
a comprehensive investigation to diplomat corps
n By Sardar Sikander be completed in six months, in- serving at the con-
cluding DNA tests of the bodies sulate in Afghani-
Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday to compare them with the family stan’s Jalalabad
claimed that the United King- members of the disappeared. city was shot dead
dom has ordered the removal of According to APDP, 8,000 on Monday eve-
anti-Pakistan advertisements from people have disappeared in the ning, DawnNews
taxicabs in London after Pakistani decades-old conflict between reported.
authorities drew the attention of the two neighboring countries. Two assailants riding a motor-
British authorities to the offensive The association accused govern- bike opened fire on Nayyar Iqbal as
material. ment forces of staging gun battles he bought goods from a shop, Paki-
“On taking up the matter of to cover up killings, said the Al stan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan,
pernicious anti-Pakistan campaign Jazeera report. Zahid Nasrullah Khan, said.
on London cabs by Pakistani High “We have been demanding Iqbal hailed from Sialkot and
Commissioner Syed Ibne Abbas, that there be an independent com- was working in the consulate’s visa
Transport for London responded mission to do a credible probe on section.
promptly and ordered the removal the mass graves,” Khurram Parvez Attaullah Khogyani, the
of offensive advertisements from from APDP told Al Jazeera. “We spokesman for the provincial gov-
cabs immediately,” said a statement have done a study of 53 cases for ernor in Nangarhar, confirmed his
issued via Radio Pakistan. a report where the bodies were murder.
“The company has confirmed it exhumed from unknown graves. “Police have launched an in-
is initiating an inquiry into the mat- that directly attack Pakistan’s terri- to protest over the emergence of It was found that 49 bodies in the vestigation into the incident. No ar-
ter and also assured of disciplinary torial integrity and sovereignty.” ‘Free Baluchistan’ posters in Geneva graves were of civilians and one rests have been made so far,” Khog-
action against the perpetrators of According to Pakistan’s FO, the that were launched by a group that was a local militant, three bodies yani said.
this malicious campaign,” it added. high commissioner was informed has alleged connections with Balo- were unknown. These people were Iqbal was an assistant to the
No official statement had been that Pakistan, in line with the UN chistan Liberation Army (BLA), a dubbed as foreign militants by the consul general in Jalalabad, the capi-
issued by the Pakistani Foreign Of- Charter, rejected actions and adver- terrorist organization which is per- government.” tal of the restive Nangarhar prov-
fice or the British High Commission tisements with “malicious content petrating terrorism and violence in In 2011, the Jammu Kashmir ince, which borders Pakistan.
in Islamabad at the time this report. that impinge on our sovereignty and Pakistan, at the behest of India. State Human Rights Commission Khan said he had “absolutely no
Recently, several pictures ap- territorial integrity.” The issue was Baloch insurgent leader Braha- had confirmed that thousands of idea” why Iqbal, a father of five, was
peared on social media featur- also being raised with the Foreign mdagh Bugti is living in self-exile in bullet-riddled bodies had been targeted.
ing cabs in London bearing ‘Free and Commonwealth Office by our Switzerland. Hyrbyair Marri, anoth- dumped in unmarked graves — The staffer’s body has been
Balochistan’ livery – an obvious High Commissioner in London, er Baloch separatist who heads the many of them mass graves — in shifted to a hospital in Jalalabad for
reference to the anti-state move- an FO statement said. “Pakistan is BLA, was previously granted politi- India-held Kashmir. a postmortem examination.
ment launched by Baloch insurgent aware of the intentions of such sinis- cal asylum by Britain. Pakistan has The findings had revealed Islamabad condemned the inci-
groups that are patronized by India. ter and malicious campaigns, which sought the extradition of top Baloch that of the more than 2,000 bod- dent and demanded increased secu-
On November 3, Foreign Sec- should not be allowed on the soil of insurgents and has opposed the ies found, at least 574 were local rity for consular staff and employees
retary Tehmina Janjua called British a friendly country.” grant of asylum to them by foreign residents. working in Afghanistan, Foreign Of-
High Commissioner Thomas Drew This is not the first time an anti- governments, but both Swiss and Al Jazeera’s report, quoting fice Spokesperson Dr Faisal said.
to the Foreign Office to convey Pakistan campaign has surfaced in British authorities have not enter- the APDP, said that since 2011, The Foreign Office also sum-
“Pakistan’s serious concern at the a Western country. In September, tained Islamabad’s request... the Indian government has failed moned the Afghan chargé d’affaires
display of slogans on London cabs Pakistan summoned Swiss envoy - The Express Tribune to comply with directions from to register an official protest.
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