ISLAMABAD (APP): Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir said that the issue of Kashmir has always been a focal point of Pakistan’s national security paradigm.
He made these remarks while addressing the participants of the 31st Air War Course at the PAF Air War College, Karachi. “As a nation we must leverage our internal and external influences in order to create an effective strategy for the amicable resolution of the Kashmir dispute”, said President Masood Khan.
Highlighting the historical genesis of the Kashmir dispute the President said that it was through the collusion between the Maharaja, Indian leaders and the then Viceroy that disturbed the natural flow of history making Kashmir a disputed territory.
The fabricated document of accession led to Indian forces violently occupying Jammu and Kashmir consequently leading to the massacre of over 250,000 Muslims of the area, said the President. This, he said, was the first ethnic cleansing on such a scale in a post-world war era.
In view of the geographical continuity of the area, the integration of the people of Kashmir and Pakistan, the legality of the matter; the land of Kashmir is an integral part of Pakistan, said Masood Khan. Pakistan is constitutionally incomplete without Kashmir, he said.
The President pointed out that the solution to the Kashmir dispute was given seven decades ago through the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Kashmir. He said, “The essence of the resolution is a plebiscite, which is the only democratic and impartial solution. No agreement can substitute the resolutions of the UN.”
Masood Khan reiterated that the bi-lateralization of the dialogue has proven to be futile as India has consistently sabotaged talks. India has hijacked the dialogues by buying time and trying to scuttle it all together, said President Masood. He added that a multilateral diplomatic efforts are required to make India come to the dialogue table and make the Kashmir issue a focal point of the agenda. “This dispute is not a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India. The people of Kashmir are the most important party to this dispute and they must be taken onboard”, said the President.
“India is involved in unimaginable human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir. They are on the scale of war crimes and a planned genocide and acts which can only be termed as crimes against humanity”, said President Masood. The President said that Indian occupation forces have resorted to openly murdering unarmed protestors, mass blinding, dishonoring women and illegally arresting Hurriyat leaders in order to subdue the struggle of the people of Kashmir for their right to self-determination.
The international community must work for a peaceful resolution to this dispute as neither this region nor the world can afford a war between the two nuclear neighbors said the President AJK. “This region is a nuclear flash point that will endanger global peace and stability. A peaceful resolution to the dispute is only possible through constructive talks”, said Masood Khan.
On creating awareness on the crisis unfolding in Kashmir the President said that an effective and unified communication strategy has to be devised in order to ingress the global civil society, parliaments of the powerful nations and leverage international support to help create awareness of the human rights violations taking place in IOK.
The event was attended by Air Vice Marshall Abrar Ahmad SI (M), Commandant Air War College, senior faculty members and participants from various other brotherly nations.
