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London: In a significant statement, newly-appointed Hurriyat Conference chairman Maulana Abbas Ansari has said India and Pakistan should talk about the "entire Kashmir" and voiced his opposition to any US pressure on the two countries to hold dialogue.

"When India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement, they did not talk about the entire Kashmir. What is now happening is that India wants to talk about Pakistani Kashmir and Pakistan wants the opposite," he said replying to questions on "Aap ki baat, BBC ke saath" programme broadcast on July 27 night.

"Therefore", he said, "let both the countries talk about the entire Kashmir."

Making it clear that Hurriyat was against any US pressure on India and Pakistan to talk, Ansari said, "I am saying that India and Pakistan are sovereign and independent countries. They should know their well-being. They should sit and sort out their differences."

Rejecting third party mediation, he said, "Following the roadmap of any other nation would not help in solving this issue. They (India and Pakistan) should both sit and talk, and the solution would only come when both these nations involve Kashmiris from both sides of the border."

"If any solution were to be found by any third party, it will not work. For a moment, or say superficially, it may seem a solution, but it will not work, as it could be lacking in trust and mutual belief," he said.

He said if India and Pakistan wanted a bridge, "let it be Kashmiris. As when the bombs fell from both sides they fell on Kashmiris, let them be the bridge between the two countries."

PTI