Sharif says Modi's Balochistan remarks "unwarranted"

Pakistan has called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks as unwarranted in a letter written to United Nations Secretary General Ban ki Moon while apprising him on the Kashmir issue.

The letter called the Indian Prime Minister's remarks on Balochistan as unwarranted and in complete contravention of the UN charter, reports Radio Pakistan.

It also said that his comment aimed at diverting the world attention from the ongoing atrocities in the valley.

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said yesterday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has written another letter to the UN chief apprising him of the alleged human rights violations on the Indian side of Kashmir and also urged him to send a fact-finding mission there to investigate the same.

In his letter, Sharif also mentioned that he remains open to any UN mission for a visit as it has always facilitated the UNMOGIP, foreign diplomats and tourists in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Responding to questions on the Kashmir dispute, Zakaria said Pakistan will continue its efforts to raise the Kashmir dispute at the international level.

It will figure prominently at the upcoming annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the OIC meetings on the sidelines of the UN session, he said.

He added that Pakistan too wants peaceful resolution of the lingering Kashmir dispute through the dialogue process for which the country is always ready but without any preconditions.

When asked about the trilateral set up formed by the United States, India and Afghanistan, the spokesperson said, "We are not sure what the need of this platform is."

As for peace in Afghanistan, he said Pakistan remains committed to an Afghan owed and Afghan-led peace process such as the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG).

India has, however, dismissed Islamabad's attempts to drag the international community into the Kashmir issue and justified Prime Minister Modi's comments on Balochistan as mere statements that cannot be construed as interference.