‘NO MEDIATION ON KASHMIR’

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday addressed an annual press conference of her ministry, during which she said that Pakistan cannot approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with the Kashmir issue.

“Pakistan can no way take the Kashmir issue to International Court of Justice , it can only be resolved bilaterally,” she said and added that there will be no third-party mediation in talks with the neighbour on the matter.

Swaraj said the government didn’t spend much time and energy on Pakistan. “For us, Pakistan is any other country.

“The terrorists were heavily armed with automatic rifles, grenades and incendiary material such as petrol, and were carrying dry rations which indicates they intended a prolonged siege and extensive damage,” he said.

The minister said it was inspiring to see CRPF men staying awake all night and maintaining vigil, and to see the J& K Police come to the CRPF’s assistance quickly. Remember three things: we want to resolve all issues through dialogue, dialogue will be bilateral, and terror and talks can’t go simultaneously,” she said.

The external affairs minister also quashed rumours surrounding PM Narendra Modi’s alleged meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the future. “There are no meetings scheduled between PM Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Astana, during the forthcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,” she said. Commenting on Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence, the minister said “As long as the case filed in ICJ is not resolved, Jadhav can’t be given capital punishment”. J&K police detained two separatists ahead of a Monday meeting called to discuss the NIA raids on the homes of Hurriyat leaders.

JKLF chairman Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody, a night after Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, was put under house arrest.