'There's no military or militancy solution to Kashmir problem'

The long standing dispute on Kashmir should be resolved via dialogue, as any military option would lead Pakistan and Indian nowhere, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference along with leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Imran Khan stressed the need for demilitarising South Asia and called for including Kashmiris in the dialogue process.
He said that peace and prosperity in the region will remain a dream unless the Kashmir dispute was settled in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. "There is no military or militancy solution to the Kashmir problem and the only possible solution is dialogue," he maintained.
The PTI chief said that in the past, incompetent leaderships in both Pakistan and India had failed to resolve the issue, hurting the region's prospects for prosperity, besides jeopardising the regional peace. He said that if PTI came into power, it would resolve the issue through peaceful dialogue.
Highlighting Pakistan's geo-strategic position, Imran Khan said that it would be in the regional interest that both Pakistan and India should coexist peacefully and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. He said that ongoing human right violations should be ended "once and for all". He said that the settlement of the Kashmir dispute should top the agenda of the both India and Pakistan, adding that people of both the countries were struggling to make both ends meet, so both the countries "must live peacefully, instead of going for a war-like situation".
Mirwaiz said that Kashimiris should be given representation in the bilateral parleys being held for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, as the problem "cannot be resolved until Kashmiris are included in the dialogue process". He said that resolution of the Kashmir problem was crucial for regional peace and harmony.
Terming the Kashmir dispute a humanitarian issue, he said that it was not merely a territorial dispute, adding that Kashmiris "are not against establishing relations between Pakistan and India, but it must not be at their expense". He urged that Kashmiris of both sides of the divides should be allowed to have frequent interactions. "We are being subdued by use of brute force, but this will not deter Kahsmiris. Although Kashmiris do not have weapons, we have the courage and the will to fight for our right to self-determination," he said.