ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan, as a responsible country and nuclear power, aspires to use responsible, diplomatic measures to resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute.
“Four wars have already been fought over the issue and the region remains a flashpoint. However, in the 21st century, we cannot afford any more wars,” Gilani told a Kashmir Convention at the Prime Minister Secretariat held to mark Kashmir Day. “We want to resolve the matter through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus.”
Gilani said that Kashmir remains a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy and the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government has focused on Kashmir policy. “We are committed to continue moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris. The entire nation, including all political parties, is united over the cause.”
The prime minister, contrasting the success of policies made through consensus and those formulated by dictators, said that the country’s policies should be made by chosen representatives of the people, not by individuals.
Comparing Pakistan’s exemplary relationship with China to bilateral ties with Afghanistan, Gilani said that question marks were hanging over the Afghan policy because it was made by a dictator who wore four hats but could not sustain pressure by the US. On the other hand, he said, following the Nato attack on the Salala checkpost, the PPP government reacted with defiance against the US.
Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, said in his welcome address that it was to the credit of the democratically-elected PPP government that it forced India to resume the dialogue process.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chairman of the parliamentary committee on Kashmir, said that the Kashmiri leadership was not satisfied with the explanation given to them by the commerce ministry on the issue of granting Most-Favoured Nation status to India. “The platform of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should be used to highlight the Kashmir cause,” he suggested.
Meanwhile, a message from the prime minister was read out in a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council held in Muzaffarabad on Sunday to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day.
“A peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute that accords fully with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people is essential for peace and prosperity in the region,” the prime minister said in the statement read out by the assembly’s speaker.
COMMENTS (14)
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@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui: If Indians have convinced the world that it is right on Kashmir, then its triumph of its diplomacy. Its Pakistan which does not know what diplomacy is all about!
I claim,never be solved because some powers including United Nations are not in favor of peace and Pakistan. Majority of the world countries are supporting Indian stance.
Then what is this Kashmir day . Scrap it first . Don't extend even the moral support to Kashmirees otherwise we will do the same . Don't interfere in the affairs of Afghanistan and Kashmir to save Pakistan intact .Pakistan is now not in a position to dictate . Be secular and think secular ,to survive in a secular word order .
Nice thoughts... but ur jihadi brothers kind of suck at diplomacy...
Didn't Kosygin tell Ayub at Tashkent that what you could not obtain by war you won't get by diplomacy?
Isn't is great to live in a dreamworld?
India does not know what is diplomacy.
PM, better first you teach diplomacy to India and then talk.
Even after 65 years, India does not move an inch from her own point of view and PM Gilani is aspiring to settle Kashmir dispute through diplomacy?
Good. After 4 failed attempts to solve the problem through armed conflict, this is a sensible approach.
@Err: Am sure people of baluchistan will sort out pakistan too!! Deal with that.
PAK has lot of diplomatic issues on her plate.
@ Err......none of the locals are doing anything in afghanistan and i think one should stop citing examples of uprisings......Egyptians, Libyans and Tunisians have done it and are worst than they were before and deteriorating, syria will go same way........ultimately, these regions will become new terrorist havens and flash points..... Second, Kashmir is different, it doesnt not only belong to handful of separatists who are actually getting salary and security from India, whose children live abroad....but also to diverse people who are living peacefully and happily in Other parts of Kashmir and Jammu......
@vasan It is advise able that India does the same, if there is a lesson from Afghanistan and Arab Spring occupying people artificially through an oppressive police state cannot last in the long run. Kashmiris have genuine human rights grievance against the BSF and the continuing imposition of AFSPA will only backfire in the long run. It's true Pakistan can't do much so it should stay out, but I can guarantee you Kashmiris will themselves sort Indians out like the people of Syria/Egypt /Tunisia. Keep denying the reality of these grievances at your own risk.
An independent Baluchistan is very essential for peace and prosperity in the region. We are obliged to provide moral and monetary support to the Baloch who are being mercilessly killed by Pakistani occupational forces. We also support the many US Senators and strategists who have advocated an independent Baluchistan.
Hightime Pakistan realises this and curbs the martial tendencies.