In its latest attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of India, Pakistan has urged the United States to pressurise India over the Kashmir imbroglio, saying that the recent unrest proved that New Delhi, and not Islamabad, was to blame for the ongoing trouble in the Himalayan territory.
On a visit to New York for a UN session on Pakistan’s devastating floods, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi insisted that his government wanted peace with India, but tore into its rule of Kashmir, which he called "oppression," the News reported.
"The occupation cannot continue. The rights of the Kashmiri people cannot continue to be denied," Mr Qureshi said at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"We call upon the United States particularly, which is pressing so responsibly for peace in West Asia, to also invest its political capital in trying to help seek an accommodation on Kashmir," he added, pointing out that "such an accommodation would not only be just for the people of Kashmir but would be critical for peace in the region."
Mr Qureshi also said that Islamabad could not be blamed for the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
"At times it’s easy for the Indians to look toward Pakistan and blame Pakistan for everything that’s going wrong in Indian-occupied Kashmir," Mr Qureshi said, adding that "no one any longer can seriously believe this".
"Can Pakistan orchestrate thousands of people? Can Pakistan plan, sitting in Islamabad, a shutdown all over Kashmir?" he questioned.