Islamabad Responds To Jaishankar's 'Era Of Uninterrupted Dialogue With Pakistan Over' Remark

Pakistan said on Sunday that the "Kashmir dispute was an internationally recognised issue" that must be resolved in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch made the remarks while responding to recent comments on Jammu and Kashmir by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Jaishankar on Friday said that the “era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over. Actions have consequences, and insofar as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, I think Article 370 is done."

"The issue today is what kind of relationship can we possibly contemplate with Pakistan. What I do want to say is that we are not passive, and whether events take a positive or negative direction, either way, we will react," he added. 

On Sunday, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Baloch said that the Jammu and Kashmir “dispute is an internationally recognised dispute that must be resolved in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. The resolution of this unresolved conflict is pivotal to peace and stability in South Asia.

She rejected the notion that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has been or could be settled unilaterally.

The spokesperson said that while Pakistan remains committed to diplomacy and dialogue, it will respond with resolve to any hostile actions.

"True peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through a settlement in accordance with UNSC resolutions and the inalienable rights of the Kashmiri people," she said in a statement.

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.

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 said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.