Cannot sit with 'butcher' at negotiating table: AJK president

No power on earth can weaken bonds of Kashmiris with Pakistan, says Masood Khan

MUZAFFARABAD:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has said that talks with India would amount to sitting on the same table with a "butcher" who had slaughtered our children, and endorsing what New Delhi has been doing in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir.

"The UN resolutions on Kashmir are the basis of our struggle, and the question does not arise of deviating from these resolutions," he said.

Addressing a function held in Muzaffarabad under the auspices of Azad Jammu and Kashmir University to mark the founding day of AJK government, he said that we are not opposed to dialogue with India, but it can be held under UN supervision and with the involvement of the Kashmiris only when India gives up its war hysteria, halts massacre of Kashmiris, reverses all actions taken after August 5 last year, ceases its military operations to create an environment conducive for talks.

Masood said that we are able to celebrate our founding day on this side of the Line of Control today because of the sacrifices our elders had offered to liberate this territory and this by virtue of these sacrifices that the Kashmir issue is still alive.

"This is a historical fact that our freedom fighters had been knocking at the doors of Srinagar in October 1947 when India with the nexus of Sheikh Abdullah and Maharaja Hari Singh militarily invaded Kashmir," he said, adding that the whole Kashmiri nation had been bearing the brunt of this high treason of Sheikh Abdullah and Maharaja for the last 73 years.

The AJK president also warned India not to compel the young generation to follow the footprints of their elders to take up weapons to rid IIOJK of its illegitimate occupation. Accession to India, he said, had never been an option for the Kashmiris. "On the contrary, they wanted to accede to Pakistan in 1947, and they are imbibed with the same spirit even today."

He said that no power on the earth can weaken the bonds of Kashmiris with Pakistan. "This is evident from the fact that India had used every means to win the 'hearts and minds' of the Kashmiris during the last seven decades, and when it was convinced that the Kashmiris were not ready to accept its slavery, it decided to eliminate the whole Kashmiri nation."

He also called upon the international community to take notice of the Indian oppressive and repressive actions in disputed territory which it had taken in violation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

Addressing the function, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, Professor Dr Kaleem Abbasi said that all the steps taken by India in IIOJK, especially bifurcation the state, its annexation with the Indian Union and demographic changes is not only a violation of UN resolutions but also a clear breach of other international law.

He said that India was not only depriving the people of Occupied Kashmir of their political and economic rights but also their right to life, property, honour and religious and social rights. He added that since April 2.2 million Hindu citizens have submitted applications for domicile in Occupied Kashmir, out of which 1.8 million have been granted domicile in the last few months.

The vice-chancellor said that the people who are being granted domicile and settled in IIOJK by India are said to be mostly ex-army officers and their families or RSS ideologues. "After giving domicile of Kashmir to 5 million Hindus, India wants to bring changes in electoral constituencies in the occupied valley to pave the way for BJP rule and consequently, end the Kashmir issue for good.

The function, organised at the Chahlah Bandi Campus of the university, was also addressed by Secretary Kashmir Liberation Cell Imtiaz Chaudhry, Dr Rehana Kausar and other speakers while Vice-Chancellor of Quaid Azam University Prof Dr Muhammad Ali, Rector International Islamic University Islamabad Dr Masoom Yaseenzai, Allama Iqbal Open University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ziaul Qayoom, Agriculture University Peshawar Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Jahan Bakht and Haripur University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Anwarul Hassan Gilani were present on the occasion.