India has given message for desire for conversation: Imran Khan's adviser

Yusuf also argued Kashmiris be made a "third party" in talks with India

moeed yusuf Moeed Yusuf | Official Twitter handle

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has adopted a strident line against India's revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Imran has repeatedly referred to the Narendra Modi government as being fascist and accused it of attempting to perpetrate a genocide in Jammu and Kashmir.

Now, a senior adviser to Imran Khan has claimed India has sent a "message for a desire for conversation". Mooed Yusuf, the special assistant to the Pakistan prime minister on national security, made the claim in an interview with Karan Thapar on The Wire that was aired on Tuesday evening.

The interview was billed as the first by a Pakistani official to an Indian media outlet since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

Yusuf made a cryptic statement that “We have got a message for a desire for conversation”, but gave no details. Yusuf also argued Kashmiris be made a "third party" in talks with India, a position India has repeatedly rejected.

Yusuf claimed the Indian government's move to revoke Article 370 was an "on goal" for India. Yusuf reiterated a claim by Farooq Abdullah that Kashmiris did not see themselves as Indians. Yusuf declared the revocation of Article 370 was not "an internal matter" of India, but it was a "matter for the UN".

Yusuf also denied Indian charges of Pakistan's mistreatment of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national sentenced to death by Islamabad for spying. Yusuf alleged India had "been caught with its pants down" on the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue.

Yusuf even accused India of "deliberately delaying sending evidence and witnesses” related to Pakistan’s involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks as India wanted to keep the issue alive.

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