Onus on India after LoC ceasefire: Pak

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said the onus is on India to create an “enabling environment for further progress” in bilateral ties following Thursday’s surprise announcement about both countries recommitting themselves to the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC), a remark that came two days after India asked Islamabad to take demonstrable steps against terrorist organisations.

On Thursday, India and Pakistan jointly announced that they agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). India told Pakistan “talks and terror” cannot go together and said it desired normal neighbourly relations.

In a set of tweets marking two years of Pakistan’s action after the Indian Air Force targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp at Balakot in 2019, Khan said Pakistan was ready to move forward to resolve “all outstanding issues through dialogue”. He also said India must take steps to meet the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.

“I welcome restoration of the

ceasefire along the LOC. The onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress rests with India,” Khan tweeted. “India must take necessary steps to meet the longstanding demand & right of the Kashmiri people to self determination acc to UNSC resolutions,” he added. This was Khan’s first formal reaction to the decision by the armies of India and Pakistan on February 25 to strictly

adhere to the truce on the LoC, following his return from an official visit to Sri Lanka this week.

A statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office to mark the same occasion said the country is committed to “peaceful coexistence and resolution of the long outstanding J&K dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people”.