No bilateral talks or trade with India after August 2019, says Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan said on Friday that there was a status quo in ties with India post-August 2019 after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, indicating that there were no bilateral talks or trade taking place.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly briefing that following the development of August 2019 in Kashmir, several measures were taken by Pakistan, including the suspension of bilateral trade.

“That situation remains intact, and at this point, there are no talks between Pakistan and India with respect to bilateral trade," she said.

The ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.

India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.

When asked if she would welcome an announcement by the US to not comment on the latest arrests of military officials over alleged misuse of authority, Baloch said foreign governments should refrain from meddling in the internal affairs of Pakistan.

“I do not wish to welcome a statement or lack thereof which was not even expected from a foreign government. A foreign government, as we have said on multiple occasions, need not comment on the domestic affairs of Pakistan. So if a government refrains from making a statement, they are doing the right thing and the Government of Pakistan does not need to welcome that,” she said.

Baloch also rejected allegations of Pakistan's interference in Bangladesh affairs by saying that “there is absolutely no truth to such allegations”.

“Pakistan believes that the people of Bangladesh have the capacity to settle their own affairs and determine their future without foreign intervention or unsolicited advice from outsiders. The people of Bangladesh will continue to have our best wishes,” she said.

The spokesperson also said Pakistan has consistently raised its concerns about the presence of terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. She said Pakistan expects the Afghan authorities to take effective and robust action against the terrorist groups.

Baloch said that the statement made by the Special Representative on Afghanistan, urging Kabul to hand over militants hiding there, was consistent with Pakistan's position that the “Afghan authorities need to take effective action, robust action, against these terror groups, and that includes the handing over of individuals who are involved in terror incidents inside Pakistan; the handing over of their leadership; and disarming those individuals and groups that continue to threaten Pakistan”.