Peace, stability in South Asia hinges on settlement of Kashmir issue: AJK President:

MIRPUR [AJK]: , May 04 (APP):Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, while terming resolution of the Kashmir dispute as key to peace and stability in South Asia, has said that it was high time that the international community should play its due role to help resolve the lingering dispute.

He expressed these views during his exclusive interview with the Turkish national broadcasting organisation TRT, Russia Today TV, Al-Arabia TV and others on Thursday.

The president regrettably noted that even after the passage of 75 years, the Kashmir issue was still hanging around. Referring to recent visits to the US, the UK, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East countries, the president said there was a growing realization that the dispute should be resolved peacefully in line with the Kashmiris’ aspirations. He said that the government and the people of Turkey have always openly supported the right of self-determination of Kashmiris.

Underlining his efforts to promote the Kashmir cause at the international level, the president said that he had the privilege and honour to represent Kashmiris at the UN, OIC, and other important forums wherein he had presented the case of Kashmiri people effectively and highlighted the plight of Kashmiris besides exposing Indian barbarism and brutalities in occupied Kashmir.

He said that it was quite encouraging to note that the international community was ready to listen and hear Kashmiris. Referring to the volatile situation in the region, he said that Kashmir has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan.

Both the nations, he said, have fought three wars over Kashmir. “The clouds of war will continue to hover over the region unless the Kashmir dispute is resolved in accordance with the UNSC resolutions that guarantee the right to self-determination to Kashmiri people”, the president said.

Since peace and stability in South Asia hinges on the settlement of the Kashmir dispute, the president said that it was incumbent that the world community should come forward and help resolve the dispute once and for all to ensure durable peace in the region.

He said that the United Nations, the United States, the OIC, and other international organizations that believe in human rights should play their role to stop the ongoing atrocities in Occupied Kashmir and resolve the Kashmir issue.

In response to various questions, Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry said that after August 5, 2019, there has been an enormous increase in the violation of human rights in Occupied Kashmir.

He pointed out that the Modi government has started large-scale demographic changes in the region.

“Similarly, the constituencies of Occupied Kashmir are also being changed under the garb of delimitation to pave the way for installing a Hindu Chief Minister in the Muslim majority state,” he said.

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