Paying tributes to Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gillani, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Sunday said the early resolution of Kashmir was key to world peace. Speaking here at a seminar on the anniversary of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat-e-Jammu and Kashmir, he said Syed Ali Gillani has rendered great services for the cause of Kashmiris.
"He has spent a life in the tehrik for liberation of Kashmir which will never be forgotten," the minister said. He categorically stated that the struggle for independence of Kashmir should not be equated with terrorism.
"Terrorism and independence struggle are two different things and should not be compared," he added.
He said Kashmiris were an integral party to the resolution of the issue. "All the proposals and steps to find a solution to the problem become meaningless, even if the governments of Pakistan and India agree, if the Kashmiris do not accept these measures."
Sheikh Rashid said President General Pervez Musharraf has said it a number of times that the sooner a solution to the problem is found, the better it is for India and Pakistan.
"If we keep the issue in cold storage for a longer period, it will further complicate the matter," he said.
The minister urged the Kashmiris to take advantage of the fast paced media to spread their message across the world.
"The media should also play its role in projecting Kashmiris' cause and the Kashmiris should know the effectiveness of media in their struggle for independence."
The Kashmiri leaders in their speeches called for a united approach to achieve the right of self-determination and independence from the clutches of Indian control. They also urged the Kashmiri leadership in Pakistan to stand behind Mujahideen who were waging a struggle in Indian occupied Kashmir.
The Kashmiri leaders who delivered speeches at the seminar included Farooq Rehmani, Pir Salahuddin, Professor Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, Altaf Qadri, Maulana Ghulam Nabi Nowshehri, representative of Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan Noor ul Haq Qureshi and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed.
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