By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Masood Khan while describing the situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) as alarming, said India and Pakistan cannot resolve the Kashmir issue without the active participation of Kashmiris in the dialogue process.
“The people of Kashmir have immensely suffered due to unresolved Kashmir issue and they must be involved in finding a solution to the problems in the region,” he emphasized.
The AJK President made these remarks while speaking at the launching ceremony of the book “Qissa Nisf Sadi Ka (Tale of half-century)” authored by the leader of Jamaat Islami occupied Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Nowsheri. The ceremony was also addressed by Acting Jamaat Islami Azad Kashmir chief Noorul Bari, Chairman Public Accounts Committee Azad Kashmir Abdur Rashid Turabi, Hurriyat leader Farooq Rehmani, convener Tehrike Hurriyat Ghulam Mohammad Safi, head of Kashmir Media Service Sheikh Tajammal-ul-Islam and President Institute of Policy Studies Islamabad, Dr Khalid Rehman.
Sardar Masood said, “The talks held between Pakistan and India on various occasions since 1949, failed to yield results because Kashmiris were not part of the process. Now in the changed scenario, Kashmiri representatives must also be seated on the negotiations table in Islamabad and Delhi to find a viable solution to the Kashmir issue.” He said that the situation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir is highly frightening because Kashmiris are being deprived of their lands, business, and employment, rendering them dispossessed on their own territory. The AJK President went on to say that it is high time that all stakeholders revisit their strategy and adopt a practicable course of action for the freedom of Kashmir.
Sardar Masood Khan cautioned that the entire Kashmiri nation was being exterminated in occupied territory and they were haplessly looking to the people of AJK and Pakistan to force India to end human rights abuses and grant the right of self-determination as promised by the UN Security Council resolutions and committed by the Indian leadership.
