Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday that his country desires peaceful ties with India, including “a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.”
He made the remarks during a meeting with newly appointed Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins, who had visited him in Islamabad, The Express Tribune reported.
“A just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people is indispensable for peace and stability in the region,” said the former Minister Shehbaz.
He stressed that the international community must play a facilitating role in this regard as it is essential for lasting peace in South Asia, The Express Tribune reported.
Read also: Imran Khan’s attack on Pak Army: “History will blame you…”
Sharif’s statement comes after former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan praised India for its independent foreign policy while criticizing Western countries for being critical of India for buying Russian oil.
Since his ouster from power in April, Imran Khan has denounced a US-led foreign conspiracy against him. While criticizing the Joe Biden administration, Imran Khan repeatedly praised India for not giving in to Western demand and continuing to buy Russian oil despite being a “strategic ally” of the US.
During a large meeting in Lahore last week, Imran Khan’s PTI party played a video clip of Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar from the Bratislava Forum held in June, where the Indian minister said that New Delhi will do what is best for its people.
“When the Indian foreign minister was asked not to buy Russian oil. He said who are they to dictate India’s foreign policy. Europe is buying Russia’s oil and people need it. say they will continue to buy it,” Imran Khan said while quoting EAM Jaishankar and added “Yeh hota hai aazad mulk”. (This is what an independent nation looks like.)
Drawing a comparison between the two countries, the PTI chief criticized the Shehbaz government for bowing to US pressure to buy Russian oil.
“We had talked with Russia about buying cheaper oil, but this government does not have the courage to say no to US pressure. Fuel prices are skyrocketing, people are below the poverty line. I am against this slavery,” Khan said.
“If India, which got independence at the same time as Pakistan and if New Delhi can take a firm stand and make its foreign policy according to the needs of its people, then who are they (the Shehbaz Sharif government ) that toe the line,” Imran said. Khan told the meeting.
Jaishankar’s remarks to which Imran Khan referred were delivered at the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum held in Slovakia in June this year.
During the forum held in June, EAM Jaishankar responded to the unfair criticism against India’s purchase of oil from Russia amid the Ukraine war which has created a knock-on effect on the global economy.
Also Read: Why Assam’s Karimganj flew a Pakistan flag for 3 days in August 1947
Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm commitment to further enhance cooperation with Australia in various fields including trade, investment, agriculture and livestock, The Express Tribune reported.
He also highlighted strengthening ties for educational and technical cooperation, direct air links, skilled migration and people-to-people contacts.
Hawkins, the Australian envoy to Pakistan reciprocated the desire to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, The Express Tribune reported.