Solidarity Day: Kashmir is a human issue says PM Ashraf

Renews support for Kashmiris in their struggle for right to self-determination.

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has said that Kashmir is a “human issue” which must be resolved in accordance with the wishes of 1.6 million people of the disputed Himalayan region.

“My message to the world is that Kashmir is not an issue between Pakistan and India. It is the issue of 1,600,000 Kashmiri people, a human issue which needs to be resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir,” the premier said in a message on Kashmir Solidarity Day on Tuesday.

Since 1947 Pakistan and India have fought three wars, and all were ignited by the dispute over Kashmir – a region claimed by both countries. February 5 is observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day by Kashmiris around the globe to protest the Indian occupation of the region.

Premier Ashraf said the Kashmir dispute was a flashpoint which threatened regional peace. “The Kashmir issue is not only a threat to peace and prosperity of South Asia but also to the entire world,” he said and called upon the international community to pressurise India to resolve this festering issue.

Pakistan has always supported dialogue with India as wars are not a solution to problems, the premier said, adding that Pakistan is a peaceful nation and wants good relations with all its neighbours.

Premier Ashraf said the Kashmir liberation movement was indigenous and no power on earth could stop the people of Kashmir from their right to self-determination. According to the UN resolutions, a plebiscite must be held in the region, which India has forcibly occupied and is ruling against the wishes of the people, he added.



“Pakistan believes the use of force, coercion and violation of basic human rights can never succeed in suppressing an indigenous struggle for a just cause. Their perseverance will bear fruit,” he said.

Reiterating support for the Kashmiri people, the prime minister said Pakistan will stand by Kashmiris till the realisation of their demands for a peaceful resolution of the issue and will provide diplomatic and moral support to them.

The prime minister said Parliament is a supreme and sovereign institution and any change in the country will come with the will of the people and that is called democracy, which is our destination and revival.

He said that difference of opinion is the right of every person which is essence of democracy, adding that difference of opinion does not mean enmity. (With additional input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2013.