Pakistan renews talks offer to India on resolving Kashmir

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Saturday 15 Aug 2015 - 20:31 Makkah mean time-30-10-1436 Islamabad (IINA) – Pakistan’s president on Friday renewed an offer to archrival India to hold bilateral talks to resolve the issue of the disputed Kashmir region, among other outstanding matters between the two neighbors. In a televised speech marking Pakistan’s Independence Day, President Mamnoon Hussain said his nation believes in “peaceful co-existence,” though it would not comprise if its defense and security came under threat. “We want to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India,” he told a gathering of students, government and military officials in the capital, Islamabad. Security was tight and troops guarded the Convention Center where Hussain, along with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, hoisted the national flag to kick off Independence Day celebrations. Islamabad protests to Delhi over Aseemanand. Pakistan lodged a diplomatic protest with India on Friday over its decision to release a man jailed over a 2007 train bombing that killed 68 people, most Pakistanis. The protest to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, made as Pakistan celebrated the anniversary of its separation from India and independence from Britain, comes as the two nuclear-armed rivals prepare for a high-level meeting on Aug. 23-24. That will be the first serious effort in months to improve strained relations, though the two sides have vastly different expectations. “The Government of Pakistan expects India to take steps to bring to justice all those involved in the heinous act of terrorism on the Samjhauta Express, in which 42 Pakistani innocent citizens lost their lives,” it said in a statement. The Indian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu “sadhu” and former member of the nationalist organization Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was jailed in 2010 after he admitting involvement in the attack on the train, which was en route to the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. He later said he was tortured to give a false statement, and earlier this month India’s premier investigation agency announced it would not oppose a court’s decision last year to grant him bail. HA/IINA