Pakistan's PM urges India to resolve disputes, including Kashmir

Newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his Indian counterpart to engage in bilateral efforts to resolve outstanding disputes, including the issue of Kashmir.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted Thursday that Khan sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in response to Modi’s call for a “meaningful and constructive engagement” earlier this month.

Khan called for a meeting between the two nations' foreign ministers on the sidelines of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York later in September.

New Delhi’s foreign affairs ministry has responded affirmatively to the suggestion for the UN meeting.

Tensions remain high in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where its predominantly Muslim population has demanded autonomy from New Delhi or a merger with Pakistan.

India has ignored the call and continues to police the region with military force. About 70,000 people have been killed in India’s crackdown in Kashmir since 1989.

The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has been partitioned and divided between the two nuclear power countries but claimed in entirety by both countries since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

SS