“It is very unfortunate that a national leader like Nawaz Sharif did not (even) mention the Kashmir movement. It is very disappointing,” said Uzair Ghazali, a Kashmiri refugee living in the suburbs of Muzaffarabad.
In his address, Sharif talked about the 1998 nuclear tests, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore, the Kargil war and economic prosperity, but refrained from saying anything on the Kashmir movement and the future of the region. His speech was the talk of the town on Monday as people discussed the PML-N’s move to expansion in Azad Kashmir in the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif speech.
The only time he mentioned Kashmir was when he said: “Martial law is responsible for the Kashmir dispute not being resolved.” “We don’t expect Sharif, who is the hope for Pakistan, to forget the sacrifices of Kashmiris. This goes on to show the seriousness of the Pakistani leadership about resolving the Kashmir dispute,” said Muhammad Alam, an employee of the Public Works Department.
Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan also criticised Sharif’s address and termed the PML-N’s expansion in the region contradicting the Quaid-i-Azam’s words. Citing the Quaid, he said that he had declared all Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference as the Muslim League in Kashmir.
“Short-sighted people have negated the Quaid’s ideology by extending the Muslim League (into Azad Kashmir),” Khan, who is also the president of the Muslim Conference, said in an address. Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Azad Kashmir chapter held a press conference on Monday and criticised Sharif’s comments on the MQM.
The PML-N chief had accused the MQM of killing hundreds of people in Karachi. “Nawaz Sharif should do some soul searching before criticising the MQM. He was brought up by military dictators Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq,” MQM parliamentary leader Tahir Khokhar said in a news conference on Monday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2010.
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