Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser Thursday said that resolution of Kashmir issue was essential for peace and stability of the region. “Use of force against unarmed Kashmiris could neither crush their independence movement nor change the principled position of Pakistan” he expressed these views on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day which is marked on February 5 every year. On this occasion, the Speaker said that curfew has been imposed in Indian Illegal Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for the last one and half years due to which the people are deprived of their basic rights. He expressed concern that there was a shortage of medicines and food due to the curfew imposed for so many days, which could lead to severe catastrophe. He urged the United Nations to take notice of the ongoing barbarism by India in Kashmir and stop India from doing so. The Speaker said that the silence of the international community on the Kashmir issue could be a prelude to a major war in the region. Highlighting Pakistan’s support and principled stand for the struggle of the Kashmiri people, the Speaker said that the Pakistani government and people would continue to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination at every forum. He said that the Parliament of Pakistan is committed to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue as it has always emphasized to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and to stop the atrocities committed by Indian forces in the occupied valley. He reiterated parliamentary support on every international and regional forums for Kashmir issue. He said that the forcible occupation of Kashmir by India was against the moral values of modern society and the basic right of the people to self-determination. The Speaker urged the United Nations to implement its resolutions on Kashmir and put pressure on India to stop using force. He expressed the hope that the sun of independence would soon rise in occupied Kashmir and the people there would be able to live in a peaceful environment. On the occasion, Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri said that Pakistan fully supported the self-determination of the Kashmiri people in the occupied valley. He urged India to lift the curfew imposed for the last one and a half years and find a solution to the Kashmir issue in accordance with UN resolutions.