Peace will return to sub-continent only after resolution of Kashmir issue: Raheel Sharif

Pakistan wants peaceful coexistence but Kashmir has to be resolved first, says former army chief at WEF

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND: Former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif has termed Kashmir as the unfinished agenda of Partition, saying normality will return to the region only after resolving the long-standing dispute.

The ex-COAS expressed these remarks while speaking at ‘Pakistan Breakfast’ on the sidelines of World Economic Forum (WEF)’s 47th annual meeting on Thursday.

The session was arranged by Pathfinder Group in its efforts to promote the country at the forum attended by the world’s leading political and business personalities.

Ikram Sehgal's #Pakistan breakfast in #Davos with Gen (Retd) Raheel Sharif pic.twitter.com/ohBpsTJ8Pc

— Christoph S. Sprung (@CSSprung) January 19, 2017

Gen (retd) Raheel stressed that the Kashmir issue should be resolved as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and resolutions of the United Nations to achieve durable peace in South Asia. “Pakistan needs peace but the core issue is Kashmir, which has to be resolved first,” he said.

The restive Himalayan region suffered a rise in violence last year after the killing in July of a popular young rebel leader in a gun battle with soldiers. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim it in full.



In reply to a question whether peace and economic prosperity could be achieved in South Asia without the resolution of Kashmir dispute, Gen (retd) Raheel said, “There are three words to explain how to move forward and these are Kashmir, Kashmir and Kashmir."

Responding to another query, the former army chief said Haqqani network’s presence in Pakistan was a mere rhetoric. “Pakistan no more has safe havens and all these terrorist networks and their training camps have been flushed out of Pakistan,” he said. “This is evident...there has hardly been any drone strike in recent past."

The ex-COAS said Islamabad was ready to go to any length to have peace with Kabul but “there are many terrorist havens in Afghanistan and we have many times shared their locations [with Afghan government]”.