Former ISI chief says Pakistanis don’t trust India one bit, there is no scope for peace talks. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE

ISLAMABAD: Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul said that there was no domestic acceptance in Pakistan of talks being held with India because of the perception that it was being done under US pressure, reported news agency ANI on Friday.

Gul, in an exclusive interview to ANI, said that there was no scope of the talks as nobody in Pakistan believed in them. “This is being done under US pressure. There is no domestic acceptance for any peace talks with India, because Pakistanis don’t trust India one bit,” Gul was quoted as saying.

The former intelligence chief also expressed doubts over India’s intention on issues including Sir Creek, Siachen, Kashmir and Balochistan and maintained that no one other than only a few Pakistani traders, who will benefit from India getting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, believe in peace talks.

India in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Balochistan

Gul, during the interview, also claimed that India is fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan on behalf of the US. “Pakistan knows India’s intentions and it is not acceptable to us,” Gul was quoted in the ANI report.

He also lambasted India’s policy in Kashmir. “India has to accept that Kashmir is a disputed territory. What they are doing in Kashmir is not right, morally or legally. India is being used by the US as a bulwark in the region, and therefore, the pressure on the Pakistan Government to go easy on Kashmir. The conditions are such that Pakistan does not have much room for maneuver at this stage,” the report quoted Gul.

The former ISI chief further alleged that India was meddling “heavily” in Balochistan and affairs of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).