ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that no “formal or informal bilateral meeting” was planned between the Foreign Secretary. ‘Najmuddin Shaikh and his Indian counterpart K. Srinivasan during his forthcoming visit to Islamabad.

This was stated by a foreign office spokesman here while referring to Press reports regarding Srinivasan’s visit to Pakistan to attend a meeting of the senior officials of Commonwealth from November 22.

Delhi and Islamabad at the Foreign Secretary level here been stalled since January this year. Pakistan had described the January talks as a “failure.” The spokesman expressed concern over what he called (threatening statements” made by the Minister of State for Home.

Rajesh Pilot.

“This is the third occasion on which Pilot has made such provocative statements against Pakistan. Such threats do not frighten the people of Pakistan. We shall continue our principled support to the Kashmiri people’s legitimate struggle for self-determination and to free themselves from Indian occupation,” he said.

According to the official news agency, APP, Pilot had stated that “if Pakistan were to stretch our patience beyond a limit, there will be no Tashkent or Simla; it will be a fight to the finish.”

The foreign office spokesman leaders *‘do not indicate any desire on India’s part to achieve a just and peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, was prepared to hold talks to resolve the Kashmir issue “once a conducive climate is created for meaningful negotiations on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions and in the spirit of the Simla agreement.”

Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister, Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali has denied that there was pressure from the United States on Pakistan to recognize Israel.

Maintaining that the US Assistant Secretary of State, Ms. Robin Raphael, “did not even say a word” on the issue during her just concluded visit to Pakistan, Sardar Assef said that there was no shift in Pakistan’s policy on Israel.

“Pakistan cannot even think of recognizing Israel till the establishment of a comprehensive eluding the settlement or the Jerusalem issue,” the Foreign Minister said.

“We do not need the UN General Assembly resolutions on Kashmir which cannot be enforced,” the Foreign Minister said.

Article extracted from this publication >>  November 25, 1994