Kashmir dispute : ‘No solution without local participation’

Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto said that no solution of Kashmir would be acceptable without the participation of Kashmiris.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto has said that no solution of Kashmir would be acceptable without the participation of Kashmiris. Talking to Pakistan Television, he said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) since its inception had a clear stance on the Kashmir issue, adding that a solution acceptable to the people of Kashmir was the only way out. He said that either the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the United Nations resolutions or the participation of three parties – including Pakistan, India and Kashmiri leadership – should sit together to sort out a solution of the lingering dispute. Replying to a question, he said that dialogue not war was the best way towards the resolution of the decades-old problem. He said that it was a big achievement of the PPP-led government that without having two-thirds majority in parliament, it had successfully completed over three years of services to the masses.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2011.