Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz is likely to rake up the Kashmir issue during the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in Amritsar on December 3 and 4. Aziz is arriving in India on Sunday.

This is the first time India is hosting the meet, which is aimed at improving the security condition in war-torn Afghanistan, including economic development.

Aziz’s visit assumes significance in the wake of heightened tensions between both the countries over reports of unabated ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu and Kashmir region. Pakistan would not want to lose such an opportunity to berate India on what it terms as gross violation of human rights of Kashmiris by the Indian armed forces, diplomatic sources told BusinessLine requesting anonymity.

Sources also said that Pakistan will bring up the issue of Kashmir on the sidelines of the HoA meet, whether or not there is a bilateral meeting.

During a recent press conference in Islamabad, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry had stated that their Ambassador to the US, Jalil Abbas Jilani, had met Ambassador Richard Olson, the former US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the State Department and handed over a dossier containing information on “gross human rights violations by the Indian security forces in India-occupied Kashmir.”

With reference to the HoA conference, their Foreign Ministry spokesperson has hinted that the Kashmir issue may be raised by Aziz at the multilateral platform.

“We have always maintained that all outstanding issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, should be resolved through dialogue. Pakistan is participating in Heart of Asia Conference, as we are committed to contributing towards all efforts and initiatives that are aimed at bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan,” said Mohammed Nafees Zakaria, Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan.

Although Pakistan has made it clear that it is open for a dialogue with India for bringing about a lasting peaceful solution to several outstanding issues between the two, it seems this time the Pakistan government has not made an official request to India for a bilateral meeting.

On the other side, the Ministry of External Affairs has also stated that it is not ready for any kind of talks in the present environment when Indian military bases along the LoC are being attacked by terrorists. However, officially India has not rejected bilateral talks.

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would visit Pakistan during a recent telephonic conversation between him and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Trump even said he was willing to play a role in resolving outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including Jammu & Kashmir.

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