Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lashed out at India over escalating tensions in Kashmir, telling the UN General Assembly yesterday that New Delhi was an obstacle to peace.
Gun battles raged on Tuesday on the disputed Kashmir border between the nuclear-armed neighbours, two days after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
The Sunday assault was the worst of its kind to hit the divided Himalayan region in more than a decade.
“The international community ignores the danger of rising tensions in South Asia, at its own peril,” Sharif warned the General Assembly.
“Pakistan wants peace with India. I have gone the extra mile to achieve this,” he told the gathering in New York. “But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue.”
“Let us be clear: talks are no favour to Pakistan. Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our differences,” the Pakistani premier said.
“We are open to discussing all measures of restraint and responsibility with India, in any forum or format and without any conditions,” Sharif said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish those responsible for Sunday’s attack in Kashmir and has faced calls from some within India for military action against Pakistan.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.
Several rebel groups have fought Indian forces deployed in the territory, demanding independence for the Muslim-majority region or its merger with Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of people have died in the fighting, most of them civilians.