CPNE calls for all parties’ moot on Kashmir

Urge all parties to unite behind armed forces in face of Indian aggression

LAHORE: President of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Zia Shahid and Secretary General Aijazul Haq on Saturday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to urgently call an all parties conference (APC) to formulate a united stance on Kashmir.

They said given the precarious situation along the Line of Control and war-mongering by the Indian leadership and its media, there is a need to call such a conference. “The conference will help bring all parties together and encourage the devising of a one-point agenda against the dangers along our border with India to counter propagandist elements at the international level.”

They particularly appealed to all parties, saying that while they have the right to struggle for their political goals, ““it is their duty to keep national security interests supreme.” They sought to remind them of 1965 and 1971 wars, saying “the whole nation was united behind the armed forces in 1965, but political bickering in 1971 cost us our eastern wing and resulted in Pakistan’s dismemberment.”

They said in 1965, political forces were united behind President Ayub Khan. “Despite ideological differences, JI Amir Mian Muhammad Tufail said goodbye to Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto while all parties assured him of support when he was departing for Shimla to hold meetings with his Indian counterparts.”

“We need to show the spirit of 1965 and forge unity to respond to the Indian aggression. All parties should be seen as standing behind the armed forces,” they added.

They also paid tributes to the services of print and electronic media and expressed the hope that they would play their role in defeating conspiracies being hatched against the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan. They paid rich tributes to the armed forces and said they have been standing against all odds and risking their lives to defend the country’s borders.

Appreciating the way PM Nawaz highlighted the Kashmir issue at the General Assembly, they said the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir, AJK and those living in Pakistan were proud of his leadership. They called upon him to urgently call an APC and to summon a joint sitting of parliament on Kashmir. They also urged the four chief ministers to take up the Kashmir issue in their respective provincial assemblies.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2016.