President, Prime Minister highlight resolution of Kashmir issue for lasting peace

ISLAMABAD:

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have said a just resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir conflict is essential to achieve lasting peace in South Asia.

Marking the Right to Self-Determination Day, the two leaders reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, urging the international community to play an effective role in ensuring implementation of the United Nations resolutions on this dispute.

In his message, the President noted that on January 5, the people of Pakistan stood in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the adoption of a 1949 UN resolution recognizing the disputed status of the territory and affirming the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their future through a free and impartial plebiscite.

He observed that more than seven decades later, the commitment made by the United Nations was still not fulfilled, adding that the passage of time had neither weakened the validity of the UN resolutions nor diminished the legitimacy of the Kashmiri people’s demand for self-determination.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said the world must recognize that a just resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir conflict was the only way to achieve lasting peace in South Asia.

“We urge the international community to urgently call on India to end its widespread human rights violations in the IIOJK, reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019, repeal the draconian laws and grant the Kashmiri people the right to self-determination, as provided for in the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” the Prime Minister said.

“Pakistan will continue to extend its unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support to your cause and will continue to serve as your voice on all available platforms,” he added.