Minister proposes Irish, East Timor models for Kashmir solution

Mazari cities them as concrete proposals for gaining right to self-determination

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari has stated that Pakistan needs to aggressively put forward concrete proposals for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute on the basis of the UN resolutions.

Speaking at a seminar on Youm-e-Tasees Day of Kashmir held at the Republic University College in Islamabad, Dr Mazari laid out a set of concrete and comprehensive proposals aimed at taking the Kashmir case to the world on the basis of specific and implementable steps.

In her ground-breaking speech, Dr Mazari proposed that Pakistan should propose a solution of the Kashmir problem resembling the Irish peace accord. She made it clear that she was not referring to any specific clauses of the said accord but the broad concept on the basis of which the accord was signed and implemented.



Dr Mazari also referred to the East Timor independence based on the concept to self-determination and said Pakistan should press the Kashmir case on these lines. She also said Pakistan should ask the United Nations to document all the Kashmiris who qualified to vote in the referendum based on the UN resolutions whenever it takes place.

She said such documentation needed to be done in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and also of the Kashmiri diaspora across the world. She said that the citizens of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) were already documented because they were participating in regular elections.

The federal minister for human rights condemning brutal repression of innocent Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir said it was time for Pakistan to move beyond clichés and take concrete steps that put India on the defensive.

Defence analyst Lt Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib also addressed the seminar, saying that unfortunately we have failed to counter the narrative of India that Pakistan is involved in terrorism in Kashmir.

He said although we have Kashmir Committee on Kashmir issue but Moulana Fazalur Rehman did not do anything to raise the issue of atrocities being committed by India in Kashmir to the world.



The Executive Director News of Express News Fahd Hussain while addressing the seminar , said we have to project the Kashmir issue before world leading countries in the entertainment format. We have to produce films, dramas, poetry in English language, so we could communicate with other nations and relate the Kashmir issue.

Hussain, further stated that we have a clear narrative that Indian troops are killing and torturing Kashmiris, violating human rights. However, we are not using the right language to convey the message to the world  We have to produce literature in English so we could spread our message to the rest of the world. Senior anchorperson Moeed Peerzada and the Director of University Hammad Hussain also addressed the seminar. People from all different walks of life including students attended the seminar.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2018.