National conference: Tripartite talks urged to resolve Kashmir dispute

Speakers call for consultations among leaders of Pakistan, India and Jammu and Kashmir.

MIRPUR:

Speakers at a seminar on Saturday called for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute through tripartite talks among the leaders of Pakistan, India and Jammu and Kashmir.

The day-long national conference on “Islamic Law, International Community and the Global Peace” was organised by the Islamic Ideological Council of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, headed by AJK Supreme Court Chief Justice Muhammad Azam Khan.

The conference was attended in large by serving and retired judges of AJK’s superior and subordinate judiciary, legal experts, religious scholars, politicians, academicians, bureaucrats and journalists.

Federal minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo said that all out efforts are being made to ensure the early and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue. However, he said that any solution which does not cater to the wishes of the people will be “unacceptable”.

Pakistan has always considered it its prime responsibility to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their “just and principled struggle for freedom”, said Wattoo. He urged the leaders of Pakistan, India and Jammu and Kashmir to hold result-oriented tripartite talks on the issue.

Wattoo also criticised India for violating United Nations resolutions by deploying over 700,000 troops in Indian-held Kashmir to “suppress Kashmiris’ right to self determination”.

Earlier, AJK Supreme Court Chief Justice of and Chairman Islamic Ideological Council of AJK highlighted the objectives of holding the National congregation on the Islamic law, international community and the global peace.

They called for unity among Muslim nations and urged the Muslim ummah to implement Islamic teachings of peace and equality in their individual and collective lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2012.