Sri Lanka rejects Pakistan's claims of Sirisena calling J&K 'a disputed territory', says 'president did not make any such comments'

Colombo: After the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka claimed that the island nation’s President, Maithripala Sirisena, has acknowledged Jammu and Kashmir as a "disputed territory" , Colombo on Thursday called out Islamabad’s lies and clarified that the president “did not make any such comments” on the issue. The Pakistan High Commission, in its press statement dated 21 August, said their High Commissioner Major General Shahid Ahmad Hashmat had called on Sirisena and apprised him on the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of India’s historic move to change the constitutional status of the region. [caption id=“attachment_3034102” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sri Lankan flag. Reuters.[/caption] It also claimed that Srisena offered to mediate in the matter in order to initiate dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi. “The President acknowledged that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and expressed his desire that this dispute should be resolved according to wishes of Kashmiris under UN Resolutions. He also offered Sri Lanka’s mediation and facilitation of dialogue between Pakistan and India to re-activate the SAARC forum,” the statement read. However, the Sri Lankan President’s Media Division asserted that such remarks were never made by Srisena, who gave “a patient hearing to the Pakistan High Commissioner’s views and stated that Sri Lanka’s interest is to see the growth of regional cooperation and friendship. The President did not make any other comment on the issues pertaining to India and Pakistan,” it added. “The attention of the President’s Media Division has been drawn to a media release issued by the Pakistan High Commission on the High Commissioner’s meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena on 20 August, 2019,” the statement by PMD mentioned. Since India has announced its decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has ramped up its rhetorics against New Delhi. It approached several countries asking for their support in order to make a strong case against India. It also approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with the help of China. However, at the end of the UNSC meeting, last week, China and Pakistan stood isolated as members refused to endorse their position.