Pak speaking blatant lies right from beginning: Defence expert

Defence expert Major General (retired) P.K. Sehgal on Thursday criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's remarks at the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, saying that the neighbouring country has been speaking blatant lies right from the beginning.

"Pakistan has been speaking blatant lies right from the beginning. We too our saying that every issues with Pakistan ought to be resolved peacefully. India had cautioned Pakistan to not rake up the Kashmir issue, as it is a dead issue as far as world is concerned. It is a live issue between two countries as far as bilateral talks are concerned," Sehgal told ANI here.

Reacting to Sharif's proposal that steps should be taken to demilitarise Kashmir, and India should agree to an unconditional mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battleground, Sehgal said: "Unless and until ,you have an appropriate environment, Kashmir issue cannot be taken up. He(Sharif) has also mentioned that India should withdraw from Siachen."

"We have been telling Pakistan that withdrawal from Siachen is possible, provided they agree to physically demarcate the present position on borders on the ground which they have been reluctant to do so," he added.

On Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif proposed that steps should be taken to demilitarise Kashmir and Pakistan and India should agree to an unconditional mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier.

Sharif also proposed a four-point agenda to diffuse tensions between his country and India with regard to the Kashmir issue as well as the frequent reported incidents of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Working Boundary (IWB) that separates the two nations in Jammu and Kashmir.