Cutting across party affiliations, both pro and anti-India organisations in occupied Kashmir have welcomed the election of Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani as new Pakistani Prime Minister. The pro-India National Conference (NC) and pro-independence, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) have welcomed the election of Gilani as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq congratulated Gilani on his swearing in as prime minister, lauding his efforts to promote democracy and strengthen democratic institutions.
The Hurriyat Conference prayed for stability and progress in Pakistan through promoting democratic institutions and pursuing the politics of conciliation. The Hurriyat said that stability in Pakistan was imperative for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
Hailing Gilani's appointment, the patron of the National Conference, Farooq Abdullah hoped that Gilani's tenure would strengthen the roots of democracy in Pakistan and together with improving relations between it and India, speed up the process for resolving the Kashmir issue on a permanent basis.
In his message of congratulations, NC President, Omar Abdullah, has expressed his pleasure at Gilani's election, saying that his tenure held hopes of improving ties between India and Pakistan. He hoped that Gilani would make every effort to resolve the Kashmir issue amicably, and in view of Kashmiri aspirations, speed up the peace process with India.
Welcoming the formation of a new Government in Pakistan, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), coalition partner in the state government, said the stabilisation of the democratic and political institutions in that country has rejuvenated the hope for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue. "With the political situation evolving positively in Pakistan, I see hope in the air and promise in the environment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," top party leader, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said in a statement.
Former Chief Minister expressed the hope that the new Government would ardently pursue the peace process with India to permanently end the six decades of hostilities, violence and economic deprivation in the region.