Unfortunate that India rejected talks offer; nuclear war akin to mutual suicide, Qureshi tells diplomats

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said it was unfortunate that India didn’t take Pakistan’s offer for dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between the two nuclear-armed countries seriously, ARY News reported.

Addressing members of the Diplomatic Core, he said Islamabad had rejected New Delhi’s unilateral actions vis-à-vis the special status for occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have repeatedly said that two nuclear powers should refrain from going to war,” Qureshi said, adding a nuclear war would be akin to mutual suicide.

He said the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting to discuss the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status on Pakistan’s request despite New Delhi’s opposition.

FM Qureshi questioned why has India imposed curfew in held Kashmir if its actions concerning Kashmir are aimed at bringing prosperity to the territory. People had been forced to stay indoors in the held region, he lamented.

Indian media, he said, peddled fake news about a terrorist attack to divert attention from the issue. He added Pakistan had already alerted the world to such its concern.