Pakistan shouldn't internationalise Kashmir issue: MJ Akbar

Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar has said Pakistan should not internationalise the Kashmir issue, and added that it is a bilateral issue.

Taking a dig at Pakistan, Akbar told ANI, "If a false statement is being repeated 22 times or 22,000 times by 22 people (special envoys), it doesn't become true. If Pakistan wants to give free tourism to some MPs, then it is its independent right. Pakistan shouldn't internationalise the Kashmir issue. It is a bilateral issue and it would remain so."

Akbar said Pakistan does not want to talk on the Kashmir issue because it knows that its stand is wrong.

"The day it will talk on Kashmir, it will be caught. They have commitments on Kashmir in Tashkhent and Shimla. That's why Pakistan always hesitates from facing the truth," he added.

Akbar's comment came shortly after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif nominated 22 parliamentarians as special envoys who will be highlighting the unrest in Kashmir globally.

"I have decided to send these parliamentarians for fighting the Kashmir cause in different parts of the world. These special envoys have the strength of the people of Pakistan, prayers from the Kashmiri people across the Line of Control, mandate of the Parliament and support from the government", the Dunya News quoted Prime Minister Sharif, as saying.

Earlier, Pakistan had raised the Kashmir issue in the United Nations after violence broke out in the valley over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani by the security forces.

Then, Pakistan's Permanent Resident to the UN Maleeha Lodi had called Wani's elimination as "extra-judicial" and described him as a "Kashmiri leader".

Since then, Pakistan has been using its diplomatic platforms to apprise other nations about the unrest.