Pakistan has relaxed its stand on the Kashmir dispute and it seems that on the international pressure it was changing its principle stance on the issue, and it also appears that an environment was being created to convert Line of Control (LoC) in to a permanent border.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) President, Syed Ali Shah Gillani, expressed these views during a telephonic conversation from occupied Srinagar, Indian occupied Kashmir, with newsmen at Lahore Press Club on Saturday.
Gillani maintained that the Kashmiris were not perturbed over the Indo-Pak trade or people-to-people contact, but they have shown their concern over Pakistan relaxing its historical principle stand.
He was of the firm view that UN resolutions was the only answer to the solution of the Kashmir problem, which gives the right to the Kashmiri people to choose their destiny. "It was the Kashmiris right to decide for self-determination and they should be given that right," he added.
He showed pessimism over the success of recent negotiations between India, Pakistan and another faction of Hurriyat Conference, as the Indians have neither shown any relaxation on its stand on the Kashmir issue nor it has reciprocated the Pakistani gestures, hence no dialogues would prove fruitful. He made it clear that no solution was acceptable under the framework of the Indian constitution, and reiterated that UN resolution was the only solution to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
According to him, in the recent meeting of APHC rival group, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, with the Indian government, rights of the Indian occupied Kashmir was not discussed nor the Indians have accepted Kashmir as a dispute. In fact, they held meeting with a conviction that they were engaging the Kashmiris to resolve internal matter. Therefore, no positive outcome came from the meeting.
Although he favoured for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute, he was of the view that until India forgoes its dream of 'atoot-ang', accepts Kashmir as a dispute and withdraws its army form the valley, he did not see a solution in foreseeable future.
On General Pervez Musharraf's Kashmir policy, he averred that India has given no response. On the issue of Jihad, he said that there was no divide among the Kashmiris and also dismissed the impression that they were tired of sacrificing their lives for freedom. It seems that the Kashmiris sacrifices were being undermined and downplayed. "However, it was up to the Jihad Council to decide the issue," he added.
While commenting on the recent Pakistan-Israel meeting, he said that Israel was an aggressive country and it was illegally occupying Palestinian land through force. "No trade or recognition of Israel should take place unless Israel gives back that land that it occupied in 1967 and withdraws its armed forces," he added.
In a message to the Pakistani politicians and people at large, Gillani said, "Pakistan was an ideological state and its strength lies in its ideology, hence there should be less inclination towards the West. Moreover, Pakistan's stability was linked with its principle stand on the Kashmir issue. The Pakistanis should continue to support them and not bowing to any pressure, we need Pakistan's political as well as moral support to win the freedom. Also the media on the side of the border should keep on supporting the cause of the Kashmiris."