ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday said that peace talks with India cannot take place without addressing the long- standing dispute of Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir.
Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz while talking to Voice of America alleged that Indian attempts to sideline the issue of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir is "unrealistic."
According to VOA, tensions in the region have been rising since last week when New Delhi abruptly called off the long-awaited meeting with Islamabad as military clashes along Line of Control continued.
The VOA said recent heavy military clashes in the area have killed civilians on both sides and according to officials, top Pakistani and Indian army commanders mutually agreed to defuse tensions during a call on their telephone "hotline" links.
Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries were scheduled to meet on August 28 in Islamabad, but New Delhi canceled the visit of its Foreign Secretary to Islamabad after Pakistan's ambassador to India met with Kashmiri leaders from Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).
Sartaj Aziz said that Islamabad offered talks to New Delhi in "good faith," adding that holding a dialogue without addressing the IoK issue is unacceptable to Pakistan.
"If they make conditions [that] are unrealistic, then of course it will require more time and more effort [to hold dialogue]," he said.
He said, "All we are doing is appealing to the international community that dialogue between India and Pakistan is necessary for peace in the region, and therefore they should take notice and share our disappointment that these talks have been suspended on very flimsy grounds."
Sartaj Aziz said Pakistani officials have met with leaders from the Indian portion of IoK in the past and New Delhi has not objected until now.
The VOA said India and Pakistan have made significant progress in improving bilateral trade, economic and cultural ties in recent years.
Aziz said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has shown a determination to maintain the momentum to achieve his primary goal of stabilizing Pakistan economically.
He said Prime Minister Sharif even accepted an invitation to attend Modi's inauguration, the first Pakistani leader to do so.
Bilateral diplomatic contacts have remained suspended since January 2013 when Indian officials accused Pakistani troops of crossing the IoK border and killing five of their soldiers, charges Islamabad rejected as baseless.
India and Pakistan have fought two of three wars over the disputed Himalayan region since the countries gained independence from Britain in 1947.
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