Former deputy chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General (retired) Raj Kadyan, on Saturday said that India was prepared to hold talks with Pakistan including on Kashmir, but added that it cannot take place under the shadow of a gun or on conditions set by Islamabad.
Lieutenant General (retired) Kadyan, who was reacting to Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif statement that the resolution of Kashmir issue was imperative for establishment of sustainable peace in the region, also asked Islamabad to fulfill the criteria set by UN resolutions on holding plebiscite in Kashmir.
"I have read the remarks of Pakistani Army Chief. He says that for peace in the region, Kashmir problem is vital. India has never said that we are not prepared to sit down and discuss Kashmir. However, it cannot be done under the shadow of a gun or on Pakistani conditions," Lieutenant General (retired) Kadyan told ANI here.
"As long as it is a bilateral issue, we are prepared to sit across the table and talk to them and discuss every issue related to India and Pakistan problems including Kashmir. So, I don't think what he has said is anything new," he added.
Lieutenant General (retired) Kadyan further said the second part of Pakistani Army Chief's statement that his army is prepared to meet any threat is all theoretical.
"India is not posing any threat to Pakistan. Even on the LoC we are only retaliating to the provocations that start from Pakistan and the firing that starts killing our innocent civilian. So, that is only a theoretical statement that they are prepared, they must be prepared that's fine, but we are not posing any threat to them," he said.
Reminding that holding a plebiscite on Kashmir lays with Pakistan to fulfill the pre condition set by the UN resolution, Lieutenant General (retired) Kadyan said: "Another part he added that Kashmir problem must be resolved as per the wishes of the people. I think he is forgetting what the United Nations resolution had said in April 1949, that to hold a plebiscite all Pakistani army personnel, their irregular and Pakistani population must leave Azad Kashmir, they never met their requirement. So, there was no question of any plebiscite."
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"The UN resolution allowed India to keep the minimum required force for the security of the state while the plebiscite was being carried out. But if it was not carried out, I think the onus was on Pakistan that they did not meet the precondition that was laid in the resolution," he added.
The Pakistani Army Chief has said that the resolution of Kashmir issue was essential for continued peace in South Asia and also maintained that his force was capable of giving a befitting reply to meet any external threat.
General Sharif also said that the people of Kashmir should be allowed to decide their fate in the light of United Nations resolution.
"We persistently seek peace in the region and beyond. This quest for peace is our nation's greatest strength. We desire regional stability and relationship based on equality and mutual respect," he said.