PM Shehbaz, President Zardari urge global action on Kashmir issue – Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have urged the international community to put pressure on India to allow the Kashmiri people to freely determine their own future for lasting peace in the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

In his message on Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed today (Wednesday),
PM Shehbaz highlighted that a lasting peace could not be achieved by suppressing the genuine aspirations of the local people.

The recent developments in the Middle East amply showed that long-standing disputes should not be allowed to fester, the prime minister said in a message on Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed today (Feb 5), APP reported.

He said the government and people of Pakistan annually observed the Kashmir Solidarity Day to renew their steadfast support to the Kashmiri people’s just and legitimate struggle for the realisation of their right to self-determination.

“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. Every year, the UN General Assembly adopts a resolution that stresses the legal right of people to decide their own destiny,” the premier said, according to a statement from his office.

Regrettably, despite 78 years having passed, the Kashmiri people have yet to exercise this inalienable right, he lamented. He said the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remains one of the most militarised zones in the world, and Kashmiris are living in an environment of fear and intimidation.

President Asif Ali Zardari said the day reminded the global community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people, according to Radio Pakistan.

The president stated that the United Nations should honour the promises made to the Kashmiris 78 years ago and support their struggle for their right to self-determination.

PM Shehbaz will also pay a daylong visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) capital Muzaffarabad today, where his main engagement in Muzaffarabad will be an address to the AJK Legislative Assembly, Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar said.

He added that before the prime minister’s address, the AJK premier and parliamentary leaders of various political parties would also speak.

According to official sources, upon arrival in Muzaffarabad, the prime minister will first visit the grand Monument to Martyrs at Chattar Chowk, where he will lay a floral wreath in tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle against India.

Sources said that Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Asim Munir would also join the prime minister in laying the wreath and offering Fateha for the fallen heroes of Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the service chiefs, and the armed forces have also reaffirmed their unwavering support for the resilient people of India-occupied Kashmir in their just struggle for self-determination.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the armed forces of Pakistan “strongly condemned the ongoing grave violations of human rights in IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir)”.

“These transgressions stand as a stark indictment of India’s blatant disregard for international law, humanitarian principles, and fundamental human rights.”