Daily Times

President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan on Monday asked India to shun policy of brinkmanship and initiate process of dialogues to resolve decades old Kashmir conflict.

“Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir have always been willing to engage but India has rejected all such overtures and trying to resolve Kashmir conflict through military means,” President Masood said while addressing a conference on Kashmir organized by Pakistan House here today.

The conference was also addressed by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, former Prime Minister of Norway and Chairman Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, Kjell Magne Bondevik, representative of Syed Ali Shah Gillani, Abdullah Gillani and Director General of Islamabad based think tank Pakistan House, Rana Athar Javed.

“India must forthwith stop repression against the Kashmiris and international community should come forward to facilitate the dialogues process involving Pakistan, India and people of Jammu and Kashmir”, President Khan said.

Violence and use of force not a solution to the Kashmir conflict

He appealed to the United Nations to get more active and to take steps for implementation of Security Council resolutions. The United Nations Secretary-General should appoint a special envoy on Kashmir to facilitate the talks, dialogue and engagement on Kashmir.

“India is interested only in the land, the territory of Kashmir and it is not interested in the people of Kashmir because they don’t own India as their country. He said that in the aftermath of Pulwama attack a rising tide of hate is surging through India against the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and Indian Muslims.

Speaking on the occasion, former Norwegian Prime Minister Magne Bondevik calls for end to the hostility between India and Pakistan. He said it is high time to give more attention to the Jammu and Kashmir conflict, the long-lasting conflict in Asia.

He said that people of Kashmir are suffering and distressed people deserve our attention and engagement. For last two years, I have been trying to be in contact with the leaders of the both sides of Kashmir in an attempt to find a peaceful and political solution of Kashmir issue to lessen the sufferings of the people.

He said neither violence nor use of military force is solution to the Kashmir conflict. All parties concerned should avoid making such statements and actions that increase the tension and lead to more dangerous situation.

Published in Daily Times, February 26^th 2019.