India should not be irked by Qureshi-Mirwaiz phone call: Pakistan

In this file photo, Pakistani rangers stand near the Indian, right, and Pakistani national flags during an annual fair near Pakistan border in Chamliyal, 45 km (28 miles) west of Jammu, June 26, 2008. (REUTERS)

• New Delhi summons Pak high commissioner over conversation between Foreign Minister and Hurriyat leader
• Pakistan’s relations with Kashmiri leaders not new, Foreign Office says

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Ajay Bisaria, the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad, to the Foreign Office on Thursday to lodge a protest over a similar move made by India a day earlier. 
India had sought the presence of Pakistan’s top diplomat, Sohail Mehmood, on Wednesday night to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephone call with Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Qureshi on Tuesday had briefed Farooq, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman, about Pakistan’s efforts to highlight the gross human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir perpetrated by the Indian forces. “India should permit a Commission of Inquiry to visit Indian Occupied Kashmir,” Qureshi said.
Farooq had appreciated the efforts of the Pakistani government and emphasized that the atrocities committed on part of India shall never be able to suppress the will of the people. 
Janjua reiterated Islamabad’s position on Kashmir and told the Indian diplomat that Pakistan would continue to extend its support to the people of Kashmir.
“Kashmir is a disputed territory. The Indian government’s move to summon the Pakistani high commissioner is an attempt to influence the upcoming elections,” Dr. Muhammad Faisal, the Foreign Office spokesperson said during a weekly foreign office press briefing on Thursday, adding that “if you wish to contest your elections, don’t involve us in them.” 
He said that “Pakistan has always maintained relations with Kashmiri leaders and Qureshi’s call to Mirwaiz was not new.”
A statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs termed the Qureshi’s phone call as a “deplorable act” that was “tantamount to direct interference in the internal affairs of its neighbor” and further confirmed that Pakistan “officially abets and encourages individuals associated with terrorism and anti-India activities.”
In response, Dr. Faisal on Thursday reiterated that Pakistan rejected India’s objections to the telephone call and reaffirmed its support for the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.
In a statement released earlier by the foreign office, Pakistan condemned India’s use of the word “terrorist” being ascribed to Farooq.
“We also categorically reject any insinuation that seeks to project as ‘terrorism’ the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination. This is an outright travesty,” the statement said.
“We would like to reiterate that Kashmir is an outstanding dispute between India and Pakistan, and acknowledged as such through UN Security Council resolutions as well as numerous Pakistan-India documents including the Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration,” the statement added.