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India rejects third-party mediation offer

India today rejected the offers of Japan and Bangladesh to mediate on the Kashmir issue even as Pakistani Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan said his country would welcome third-party mediation with India.

New Delhi reiterated that the differences between New Delhi and Islamabad must be resolved through bilateral negotiations under the 1972 Simla agreement.

This was stated by an external affairs ministry spokesman who was asked to react to reports from Tokyo and Dhaka that the two countries were ready to mediate on the Kashmir issue.

The spokesman said Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.

Asked to comment on the United States's view that the wishes of the people of the state should be taken into account while dealing with the Kashmir issue, the spokesman said, ''Their wishes have been ascertained through frequent elections. There is a duly elected government with a chief minister.''

Meanwhile, the Pakistani foreign minister said on Tuesday his country would welcome third-party mediation with India.

"Kashmir remains a flashpoint and it can stoke a conflagration in the region any time," he was quoted as saying.

Referring to the series of nuclear explosions by Islamabad and New Delhi over the past three weeks, he said, non-resolution of the Kashmir issue was the major reason behind these developments in the region.

Japan's Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi today offered to host a conference to discuss the Kashmir issue.

India, however, has refused third-party mediation.

UNI

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