Hailing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's stance on Kashmir in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), political and Kashmiri leadership have described it in accordance with Pakistan's commitment for early resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the aspirations of the Kashmiris.
The leaders of all hues, including Jamaat-e-Islami and All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), lauded the Prime Minister for raising the decades-old Kashmir issue in an effective manner and successfully drawing the world attention towards its resolution.
They shared the opinion that Prime Minister Sharif rightly pointed out in his speech at the world forum that the resolution of The Kashmir issue was imperative for peace, security and economic uplift of South Asia.
Commenting on the speech, Jamaat-e-Islami Acting Secretary General Dr Farid Ahmad Paracha said the Prime Minister had vividly brought out a dismal picture of Indian-held Kashmir.
He said the credit went to Prime Minister Sharif whose thought provoking speech compelled Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer resumption of the process of bilateral dialogue on the core issue.
He said Kashmir was the jugular vein for Pakistan and Prime Minister Sharif touched the same subject in accordance with the expectations of the nation as well as the Kashmiri people.
Dr Farid Paracha suggested that after the PM's bold initiative at the UN General Assembly, the government should now take up the water issue at all the international forums to expose the real face of India.
The JI leader hoped that Prime Minister Sharif would succeed in resolving the Kashmir issue and urged the UN to put pressure on India to abide by its resolutions to hold plebiscite in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.
JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai said
Maulana Fazlur Rehman welcomed Prime Minister Sharif's speech at the UNGA highlighting the Indian-held Kashmir as a core issue between Pakistan and India.
He said the PM linked normalisation of bilateral relations with the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
Kashmir Council Europe Chairman Ali Raza Syed said that raising the Kashmir issue at the UNGA was a significant development on the diplomatic front.
Ali Raza, who is in Islamabad on a visit to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, said "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif highlighted facts about the Kashmir issue, particularly plight of the people of India-held Kashmir who have been deprived of their basic rights for over six decades."
Pakistan Ambassador At Large and PM's Special Envoy Javed Malik said the PM's speech represented Pakistan's point of view in a very positive and comprehensive manner.
He said the stance taken by Pakistan to remain engaged with India in resolving all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir, through meaningful dialogue was very positively received and the world community fully appreciated it.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and prominent Kashmiri leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah, while welcoming the clear stance of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the UNGA, asked the Indian government to hold meaningful talks with the main stakeholders - Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership - for the just resolution of the Kashmir issue.
Terming the PM's stance as bold one, they said India should respect the UN resolutions as its repeated defiance of the historic facts could not divert world's attention towards the vital issue. The UN and the international community had already accepted the right of the Kashmiri people for plebiscite, they added.
Meanwhile, senior APHC leader Professor Abdul Ghani Bhatt and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik condemned the attitude of the puppet administration in the held valley towards the Kashmiri people.
Citing callousness of the puppet government after the recent flash floods, they said though India had declared Kashmir as a calamity-hit territory, but practically it did nothing to help the Kashmiri people.
Former AJK prime minister Barrister Sultan Muhammad Chaudhry said Nawaz Sharif once again presented Pakistan's principled stand on the Kashmir issue, by urging the world body to force India to hold plebiscite in held Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Senior PPP leader Prof N D Khan welcomed the government's move to highlight the decades-old Kashmir dispute and said the Prime Minister rightly pressed on the world body to play its due role in resolving the Kashmir issue as per the aspirations of Kashmiris.
He said the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue was vital for peace and economic progress of South Asia.
PML-Functional leader Imtiaz Shaikh said the way Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presented the case of the Kashmir issue, prompted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to show his government's willingness to re-engage in the serious dialogue process.
He said the Indian PM also admitted that peace and co-operation was necessary for progress in the region.
PML-N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leader Pir Sabir Shah said that Kashmir was a core issue of the region which had not been resolved for several decades.
He said the PM rightly expressed his disappointment on the cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks by India.
PM Sharif reminded the world about its responsibilities to fulfil its promise of plebiscite in India-held Kashmir, he added.
Pakistan People's Party MPA and president of Women Wing Nighat Yasmin Orakzai termed the speech of Prime Minister Sharif in the UNGA comprehensive and meaningful.
She said Prime Minister Sharif raised the Kashmir issue in an emphatic manner and successfully drew the world attention towards resolution of the lingering issue.
Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Chaudhry Muhammad Birjees Tahir said with much focus on the Kashmir issue, the Prime Minister conveyed the real sentiments of the Kashmiri people at the UN.
The lingering issue had compounded the miseries of the people in India-held Kashmir manifold due to denial to exercise right of self-determination, he said.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique lauded the Prime Minister for raising the Kashmir issue at the UNGA session.
He said Kashmir was a core issue of the region and it had not been resolved for several decades and the PM drew the attention of the international community towards it.
He said the PM rightly expressed his disappointment on the cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks by India.
Former AJK Assembly speaker and AJK PML-N General Secretary Shah Ghulam Qadir said the Prime Minister had forcefully projected Pakistan's stance on the Kashmir issue.
PM Sharif highlighted the importance of the resolution of longstanding issue, he said and hoped that India would stop declaring Jammu and Kashmir as its integral part at the UN General Assembly and other international forums.
He asked India to fulfil the promises made by its leaders for giving the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination.
Leader of the Opposition in AJK Legislative Assembly Raja Farooq Haider Khan hailed the address and said it would give a new impetus to the Kashmiris' liberation struggle.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Abdur Rashid Turabi said the Prime Minister's speech at the United Nations represented the aspirations of Pakistani and Kashmiri people.
Deputy Parliamentary Leader in AJK Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Tariq Farooq said the Prime Minister had effectively raised the voice of Kashmiri people at the UN.
Nawaz Sharif reminded the world leaders about the UN resolutions on the Kashmir issue, which had not been implemented so far, Farooq added.
He said the Prime Minister also highlighted the plight of women and children in India-held Kashmir.
Sardar Khalid Ibrahim, a Kashmiri leader, also hailed Prime Minister Sharif for presenting the Kashmir case in its right perspective at the world forum.
Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, senior leader of ANP and MNA, said the Prime Minister rightly referred to the vital Kashmir issue at the UN.
Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) chief Ejaz-ul-Haq said that Prime Minister Sharif effectively highlighted Pakistan's stand on the Kashmir issue.
He said the PM's stance on the lingering issue was highly appreciated not only in Pakistan but also in India-held Kashmir. Prof Shaista Tabbasum of International Relations Department, Karachi University, said the Prime Minister rightly reminded the world of the long pending issue for which international guarantees were extended to hold plebiscite under the UN supervision and get the Kashmir issue resolved as per aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Discussing it at the UN platform had compelled the Indian Prime Minister to talk about the Kashmir issue as otherwise he and his party men, as a policy, consider Kashmir almost a non-issue," she added.
Comments
Comments are closed.