Colombo refutes Pak's statement on envoy meet regarding Kashmir

Sri Lanka on Thursday refuted Pakistan's claims of Colombo backing Islamabad's stance on the Kashmir issue.

A press statement issued on Wednesday, by the Colombo-based Pakistani High Commission said the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had expressed in a meeting with High Commissioner Shahid Ahmad Hashmat that the dispute around Kashmir should be "resolved according to wishes of Kashmiris under UN Resolutions".

The meeting arranged on Tuesday was at the request of the Pakistan High Commissioner about the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), following Indian government's decision to abrogate article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories - J&K and Ladakh.

Following the meeting, the statement released by Pakistan claimed that the Sri Lankan President "acknowledged that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory. He also offered Sri Lanka's mediation and facilitation of dialogue between Pakistan and India to re-activate the SAARC forum."

However, the statement contradicts Sri Lanka's account which said that the country holds "excellent friendly relations" with both India and Pakistan and hopes to see development in regional cooperation. "The President did not make any other comment on the issues pertaining to India and Pakistan," a press release issued by Colombo said.

Diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan have deteriorated following New Delhi's move, which Islamabad claimed was an "illegal, unilateral, reckless and coercive attempt" by India.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has echoed India's claim of the constitutional changes being an internal matter implemented to ensure welfare for the conflicted region.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told The New York Times that there is "no point in talking to them (India)" accusing India of rejecting Islamabad's requests for peace dialogues. He also expressed he fears the threat of a military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Indian ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla rejected Khan's recent criticism and said, "Our experience has been that every time we have taken an initiative toward peace, it has turned out badly for us."

Regarding the issue of military confrontation, Vardhan said Pakistan needs to take concrete steps in removing cross-border terrorism. "We expect Pakistan to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorism," Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.