Kashmiris want to be part of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kashmir are essential for each other and the people of Kashmir want their land to be part of Pakistan, said Sardar Sikander Hayat Khan, prime minister of Azad Kashmir on Friday. “The fight for freedom is on since 1832 and will continue till the Kashmiris get their right of self-determination,” said Sikander while addressing a national seminar on Kashmir organised by Parliament’s Special Committee on Kashmir. Sikander was the chief guest of the seminar. Chairman of the committee, Hamid Nasir Chattha, reiterated the long-standing view of the Pakistani government by emphasising the need for implementing UN resolutions to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Speakers at the seminar agreed that peace could not prevail in South Asia without the resolution of the Kashmir problem. They particularly stressed the need for the UN to play a proactive role in resolving the issue. Sikander rejected the Indian propaganda that Pakistan was inciting the Kashmiris and said the freedom struggle against Indian subjugation was indigenous. He said the Kashmiris were in favour of a composite peace process with India and desired a peaceful resolution of the issue in accordance with their wishes and aspirations. He said Indian troops were committing human rights violations such as murder, torture and the molestation of women. Sikandar urged the international community to exert pressure on India to stop human rights violations in the valley and assist their quest for self-determination. He asked Pakistan not to let the Kashmiris struggle alone for their freedom. Senator Mushahid Hussain said India was using delaying tactics on the Kashmir issue. He said Pakistan could not be blamed for the insurgency in Kashmir. “We did not start it and we cannot stop it,” he said. He said a recent CIA report spoke of oppression in Kashmir and a UN report released in December 2004 also linked peace in South Asia with the Kashmir conflict. Mushahid said Pakistan had shown flexibility on Kashmir, but India was not reciprocating Pakistan’s goodwill gestures. staff report

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