Kashmir should be focal point in Indo-Pak talks: JI

* Hafiz Idrees welcomes govt-opposition talks

Staff Report

LAHORE: Punjab Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Muhammad Idrees on Sunday welcomed the government-opposition negotiations and hoped the parliament’s supremacy and democracy would soon be established.

Addressing the JI district heads here at Mansoora, he said without an elected president, the parliament would not be complete. Comparing the parliament to the military, he said the army would not be complete without its chief and the responsibility of completing the parliament was now with President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Regarding the developments in the Indo-Pak relationship, he said the Kashmir issue would be the dialogue’s focal point. He said India still not considered Kashmir a disputed territory and it was Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali’s duty to clear all issues before talking to Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. “Jamali has to take the nation’s into confidence and not to follow US dictation on the issue,” he added.

Commenting on the US decision regarding the Hizbul Mujahideen, he said the Hizb would not accept the decision at any cost. “Hizb is fighting for the right of self determination for Kashmiris and its activities do not fall in the terrorism category. The US decision has proven to the world that America is supporting the Indians.”

He also discussed the common man’s condition and said the government was following IMF and World Bank formulated policies without taking the poor into consideration. He urged the government to revise its economic policies for the public’s relief.

Dr Muhammad Kamal, Dr Waseem Akhtar and Azheer Iqbal Hassan also addressed the meeting.

Earlier, JI Foreign Affairs Director Abdul Gaffar Aziz condemned Foreign Minister Khurseed Mahmood Kasuri’s statement regarding the starting of trade with India without solving the Kashmir dispute. He said Kashmir should be the focal point in the talks between both countries’ chiefs, as it was like during the Agra Summit.

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