Islamabad: Pakistan’s army chief on Thursday urged for a peaceful resolution in the disputed region of Kashmir and for peace talks with archrival India, a rare conciliatory call amid a weeks-long cease-fire across the volatile territory.
Addressing a session of the first-ever Islamabad Security Dialogue, Gen Bajwa also said that the potential for regional peace and development always remained hostage to the disputes and issues between Pakistan and India – the two “nuclear-armed neighbours”.
Bajwa called for burying the past and moving forward, saying that Kashmir holds the key to peace in all of South Asia, a region that is home to a quarter of the world’s population.
“Our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly” in Kashmir, Gen Bajwa said, adding that any effort to improve ties without addressing the core issue would be vulnerable to external political factors.
“It is important to understand that without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, the process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment,” he said.
Gen Bajwa’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan made a similar statement at the same venue.
Prime Minister Khan said on Wednesday said India will be benefitted economically by having peace with Pakistan as it will enable New Delhi to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory.
“India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much,” Khan said while delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the two-day Dialogue.
Khan said that having a direct route to the Central Asian region will economically benefit India. Central Asia is rich in oil and gas.
Central Asia, in the modern context, generally includes five resource-rich countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Gen Bajwa also that peace between Pakistan and India would help to “unlock the potential of South and Central Asia” by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia.
The relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August, 2019.
India has also told Pakistan that “talks and terror” cannot go together and has asked Islamabad to take demonstrable steps against terror groups responsible for launching various attacks on India.