LONDON: Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the resolution of Kashmir issue and peace in Afghanistan were vital for bringing peace and prosperity in the region. He stated this while addressing international policy experts, diplomats, people belonging to different walks of life of the British society and journalists who had congregated to attend a lecture on “New Pakistan Challenges and Opportunities.” The lecture was organised by International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) London (United Kingdom). Rahul Roy Chaudhry Senior fellow for South Asia at IISS moderated the talk. Fawad Chaudhy said that Pakistan wanted peaceful solution of Kashmir dispute with India and soon after coming into power Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had offered India dialogue to resolve the dispute peacefully. The Minister regretted that India had always rejected Pakistan’s offers for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute between the two countries. He said that the majority of people of Indian Occupied (IOK) Kashmir were not willing to live with India. He added that for the first time the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, Army and the people of Pakistan were on the same page and supporting the strategic initiatives taken by the PTI government under the leadership of PM Khan. The information minister said that Pakistan was a beautiful country but was misunderstood by the world. He said that since 1980, Pakistan had faced three catastrophic situations which brought conflict in the country. “It was because of Pakistan’s resilience that it survived. No other country could have survived under such circumstances” he remarked. Pakistan, he said had not only survived but also emerged as the most modern country in the developing world and Muslim countries. He said that the country had ‘fully functional and robust institutions.’ Published in Daily Times, December 7th 2018.