National leaders one on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The national and Kashmiri political leadership Saturday said they were united on the core issue of Kashmir between Pakistan and India that had always been damaged by dictators.They were speaking at the National Consultation Conference on Kashmir here. The conference was organised by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman.Former president and PPPP President Asif Ali Zardari, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, AJK President and Prime Minister Sardar Masood Khan and Raja Farooq Haider respectively, Opposition Leader in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Liaquat Baloch, Ansaral Ummah head Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, MQM chief and Minister for Science and Technology Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Kashmir Liberation Front’s Abdul Majeed Malik, ex-chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Yousaf Naseem, Maulana Owais Noorani, Vice President MMA Syed Sajid Hussain Naqvi and others attended the conference.The leaders condemned brutalities on innocent, armless Kashmiris in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) at the hands of occupation forces and decried the silence of international community. Speaking on the occasion, Zardari said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should know that Pakistanis will never forget Kashmir and will never leave it. “Despite differences, we all are united on the Kashmir issue and have the same stance,” he said.“Kashmir is in our foundation and in our DNA, as we are from Kashmir and with Kashmir. Today, an Indian soldier stands guard every four foot in the IHK. Only those nations get freedom who struggle for it,” he said. Zardari said the PPP founder and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had talked with Indira Gandhi on the Kashmir issue and when this issue was raised with Rajiv Gandhi, he said no one should talk with him on the issue.“Modi should know that the opinion of people on the Kashmir issue dovetails with that of the Government of Pakistan. Kashmir issue has suffered a lot due to dictatorship,” he said.“Every house in Kashmir has a martyr and many have lost their eyes. The sacrifices of Kashmiris will never be forgotten,” he said. Zardari said there was a need to rise above politics and play role for the resolution of Kashmir issue. He asked journalists to stand shoulder to shoulder with the government for resolving its issues.Fazlur Rehman said he remained the Kashmir Committee chairman for a long time and saw governments closely but he did not see any ruler as nonchalant and apathetic as were the present rulers. “We should warn the rulers to change their attitude towards the Kashmir issue,” he said. He said after 9/11 genuine freedom movements were branded as terrorism and nowadays Kashmir and Palestine freedom movements were being termed terrorism.Opposition Leader in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said Kashmiris were a target of state terrorism of India.“There is a need to convene a similar conference in Muzaffarabad where Kashmiris speak. The people of Kashmir must be accepted as the main party to the Kashmir issue,” he said.Sardar Masood Khan said the purpose of observing the solidarity day with Kashmiris was to highlight the Indian occupation of Kashmir.“There was a holocaust in Kashmir in 1947 when 2370,00 Kashmiris were martyred by the Indian security forces while thousands of women have been raped and over 6000 Kashmiris have lost their eyes so far,” he said. He said the people of Pakistan always stood with the people of Kashmir. He said if the rulers made any experiment on the resolution of Kashmir issue then people will not allow them, as Kashmiris themselves had to decide their future.He said the international narrative was changing and the Human Rifts Council of the United Nations had listed the Indian crimes and even the British Parliamentary Group had recommended imposing economic sanctions on India.“There is a need to enhance our access in the UN Security Council, General Council, and Human Rights Council of the United National to raise the issue of Kashmir in the scenario of changing international narratives,” Haq said.“Instead of presenting out-of-box solution, we have to give a major role to Kashmiris.”Raja Farooq Haider said the four-point formula of former military dictator General (R) Pervez Musharraf had dealt a deadly blow to the cause of Kashmir.He said Kashmir issue was affected by political conflicts and except three political parties, no other political party had included it in their manifestos.“Let’s make Azad Kashmir the base camp and make a Kashmir policy,” he said.Liaquat Baloch stressed the need for highlighting the Kashmir issue and said priorities be fixed to present the future line of action on the core issue before the nation.“Though such kind of conferences could assist in formulation of a policy, it seems Kashmir issue is not on the priority list of the present government,” he said.He said instead of addressing the UN General Assembly Prime Minister Imran Khan had sent Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for address that had sent a negative message to the people of Kashmir.He said Parliament and the government had played no role in the resolution of Kashmir issue and the opening of Kartarpura border had created doubts.“India always sabotaged the dialogue process and is not ready to accept Kashmir as the major party to the issue,” he said.Nayyer Hussain Bokhari said internal stability was must for resolution of Kashmir issue.He said the government had failed to constitute standing committees including the Kashmir Committee of Parliament.MMA Vice President Allama Syed Sajid Naqvi said those who had to resolve the Kashmir issue simply paid no attention.Maulana Owais Noorani called for holding a similar conference in Muzaffarabad for expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir.Khaild Maqbool Siddiqui said there was no secularism in India after Modi come into power and now extremists were ruling the country.He said Kashmiri youth like Burhanuddin Wani were fighting for Pakistan.

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