4 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Pakistan appreciates Anwar's bid to intervene in India conflict, says envoy
Pakistan's high commissioner to Malaysia, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, said the country is open to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's mediation efforts.
KUALA LUMPUR : Pakistan appreciates Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's efforts to mediate in its conflict with India, the Islamic republic's high commissioner to Malaysia, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, said.
He added that Anwar was a well-respected statesman in both countries, which made his role as a potential mediator especially significant.
'We appreciate Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's role as a peacemaker and promoter of peace. We believe he is a statesman of the highest order – one of the greatest of this era,' he said.
'We welcome his offer to mediate between India and Pakistan. He is highly respected in both countries and enjoys strong relationships with the leadership in both Pakistan and India,' Shah told reporters at a media briefing here today.
Last week, Indian MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, who was in Malaysia as part of a parliamentary delegation, said the India-Pakistan conflict was a strictly bilateral issue which did not require foreign mediation.
This was after Anwar said Malaysia was open to helping ease tensions between India and Pakistan, which escalated after a deadly attack in Pahalgam, India, that killed 26, most of them tourists.
He also condemned all forms of violence and expressed support for an independent and transparent investigation to identify those responsible for the attack in Kashmir.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in a military response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack. New Delhi blamed the incident on 'terrorists' backed by Pakistan, which Islamabad denied.
Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before a ceasefire was announced.
Separately, Syed Ahsan urged the media to seek clarification from Malaysia's foreign ministry regarding a recent claim by Indian media that Pakistan had attempted to disrupt the visit of the Indian parliamentary delegation.
'It is unthinkable that a country or embassy would ask its host nation to prevent the delegation of another country from visiting.
'I urge you (media) and your colleagues to ask the foreign affairs ministry whether this claim is true,' he said.
On June 4, Malaysiakini reported that unnamed sources, quoted by India's NDTV, had claimed that the Pakistan high commission allegedly lobbied Malaysian authorities to cancel the delegation's engagements.
The report also alleged that Malaysia rebuffed Pakistan's request to cancel the delegation's visit, said to have been made in the name of 'Islamic solidarity'.
