ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Dr. Arif Alvi has said what was being perceived as a “shift” in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance on Kashmir and talks with arch-rival India was a change in judgment due to changing circumstances, saying no one’s decisions should be “carved in stone.”
In an interview to Reuters on June 4, Khan said Pakistan was ready to restart talks with India if Delhi provided a roadmap toward restoring the previous status of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors both control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full. In 2019, India withdrew Indian-ruled Kashmir’s autonomy in order to tighten its grip over the territory, sparking outrage in Pakistan, the downgrading of diplomatic ties and a suspension of bilateral trade.
Since then, Pakistan had maintained that it would be ready for talks with India only if it restored the original status of Kashmir.
In an interview aired on Monday night on a local TV channel, the host asked the president if there appeared to be a shift in the PM’s position on talks with India.
“This shift, that people sometimes call a U-turn ... according to new circumstances, on the basis of new reasons, due to changing circumstances, a person should change their judgment,” Alvi said, defending Khan’s statement to Reuters. “Sometimes it happens that you say I don’t want to talk to him, among friends for example ... then you will try that a third person will play a role to get you talking again.”
The president concluded that it was not right for anyone to make decisions “carved in stone.”
“Even if they give us a roadmap, that these are the steps that we will take to basically undo what they did, which is illegal, against international law and United Nations resolutions... then that is acceptable,” Khan had said in the Reuters interview. “If there is a roadmap, then, yes, we will talk.”
Kashmir has been a flashpoint since India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947, and they have fought two wars over the region. Pakistan accuses India of rights violations in Kashmir, and India says Pakistan supports militants in its part of the region. Both deny the charges.
In 2019, a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan.
Pakistan in March deferred a decision by its top economic decision-making body to restart trade with India until Delhi reviewed its moves in Kashmir.
Khan told Reuters that India had crossed a “red line” by revoking the autonomy of its part of Kashmir.
“They have to come back for us to resume dialogue,” Khan said, adding, “at the moment there is no response from India.”
PM Khan’s stance on Kashmir, India talks can change with changing circumstances — president
https://arab.news/5xpfk
PM Khan’s stance on Kashmir, India talks can change with changing circumstances — president
- Khan said recently Pakistan would restart talks with Delhi if it provided roadmap toward restoring previous status of Kashmir
- The statement has been perceived as “shift” in policy as Pakistan previously said no chance of talks until original status restored fully
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
