China's position on Kashmir is clear, Saudi position is not different from OIC: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that his recent visit to China was very important and he can say that China's position on Kashmir issue is clear in which he "does not see any hesitation". Qureshi further said that there was no ambiguity in the OIC resolutions on Kashmir issue and there was no difference in the position of Saudi Arabia with the position of OIC. He was addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday and was accompanied by National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister Moeed Yousaf and Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry.

It should be noted that today's press conference of the Pakistani Foreign Minister was considered very important as he has recently visited China, made important statements regarding Saudi Arabia's position on Kashmir, while the Afghan Taliban delegation Is also on a visit to Pakistan. As expected, Shah Mehmood Qureshi discussed all these issues but his main focus was on Kashmir and he briefed on the talks on Kashmir during his visit to China. Shah Mehmood Qureshi added on the occasion that he was scheduled to meet the visiting Afghan Taliban delegation tomorrow and that he had also discussed the Afghan peace process with China.  The Pakistani foreign minister said that in one year the UN Security Council had held three meetings on the Kashmir issue which would not have been possible without the help of China. He said that China has clearly stated that India's actions on August 5, 2019, are unilateral which China rejects. It may be recalled that on August 5, 2019, India revoked the special status granted to Kashmir under Article 370 of its Constitution. India's move by Pakistan was described as a violation of UN resolutions. According to Shah Mehmood Qureshi, China has said that Pakistan and China will safeguard mutual strategic interests to ensure peace and development in the region, which he said is in response to objections to the C-Pack. The Foreign Minister said that the reaction of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to the joint declaration of China and Pakistan was unwarranted. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that China also wanted a solution to the Kashmir issue in the light of UN resolutions and bilateral agreements, which it said was a very important statement. He said that India has repeatedly tried to break the resolve of Kashmiris in the last one year.  Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the joint declaration issued by the six parties in Indian-administered Kashmir has given a new dimension to the struggle of the people of Kashmir Valley. The demand for restoration of the status of Indian-administered Kashmir on August 4, 2019, in the joint declaration, is of great importance. It may be recalled that on Saturday, the PDP, the National Conference, the People's Conference, and other parties had issued a joint statement in which they had put the demand for restoration of Kashmir's special status at the forefront.  Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan has a position on Kashmir issue and therefore it has expectations from its friends. He said that Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia were and will remain strong. In response to a question on whether Saudi Arabia had demanded the return of money given to Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said sarcastically that This is 'assumption' and 'speculation'. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan has put its position on Kashmir issue in front of the whole world and Prime Minister Imran has said that Pakistan will not come under any pressure in this regard. Referring to Saudi Arabia's stance on Kashmir, he said that a negative impression was given on social media. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Saudi Arabia's position in this regard is very clear and "now it remains to be seen how to move forward." Referring to the Afghan peace process, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the Afghan peace process The logical outcome is the inter-Afghan negotiations for which the release of prisoners was a condition. He said that prisoners have also been released by the Taliban and they have also been released. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the details of his meeting with the Afghan Taliban delegation would be laid out later.

Earlier, a delegation of the Afghan Taliban political office led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Pakistan this morning. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that during his visit to China, the issue of Afghanistan was discussed and China was supporting the whole process, playing a constructive role in it and was in touch. According to Sohail Shaheen, spokesman for the Afghan Taliban's political office, the delegation will meet with Pakistani officials on a range of issues, including the Afghan peace process, the plight of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and bilateral relations. A Taliban delegation is visiting Pakistan at the invitation of the Pakistani Foreign Office.  According to Sohail Shaheen, the visiting delegation includes Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, Muhammad Nabi Umri, Mullah Shahabuddin Dilawar, Abdul Latif Mansoor, and Qari Din Muhammad. According to Sohail Shaheen, due to the outbreak of Corona, the foreign visits of the representatives of his political office were stopped and now they are returning from Pakistan. He said that his colleagues would soon visit other countries as well. The Taliban delegation's visit to Pakistan comes two days after the Foreign Ministry announced it would tighten sanctions on members of several extremist organizations, including the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. Earlier, the last visit of a Taliban delegation from Qatar to Pakistan was in October 2019, when the peace process between the United States and the Taliban was suspended for some time. Although several months have passed since the peace agreement was signed between the United States and the Taliban, inter-Afghan talks have not yet begun. According to the Taliban, the reason for the delay in the talks is the remaining prisoners, about whom the Afghan Loya Jirga had also given the authority to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to release the remaining Taliban prisoners in order to establish peace in Afghanistan. Be done Last week, the Afghan government began the process of releasing the last Taliban prisoners. Kabul and the international community have long accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban, and when the Taliban delegation visited Pakistan in October 2019, they were sharply criticized on social media. The Afghan government had also protested to Pakistan at the time as to why the Taliban delegation was given so much protocol. However, the Afghan Taliban said that they could visit Pakistan with other countries to present their political position to the world and these countries.