MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced that a committee would be constituted to make headway in resolving the longstanding Kashmir dispute in consultation with the Kashmiri leadership.

He maintained that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s Aug 5 move to annex occupied Jammu and Kashmir was bound to lead the occupied territory to freedom from India.

The prime minister was speaking at a special session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, which was held as part of a series of events across the country to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.

After landing in Muzaffarabad, PM Khan was given a salute by police contingents on the premises of the assembly, where he also held meetings with the Kashmiri leadership — AJK leaders and representatives of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) — in the chamber of Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir, before the commencement of the special session.

PM announces appointing body to work for resolution of dispute

“[As discussed earlier] I want you to first hold a joint meeting [for a consensus] and then immediately afterwards sit with us whenever you like… We will constitute a committee that will devise further course of action in constant consultation with you,” Mr Khan said to the Kashmiri lawmakers towards the end of his speech, amid desk thumping.

Appreciating the suggestions that came up during his interaction with the Kashmiri leadership, the premier expressed the hope that this process would continue in future to “jointly take the Kashmir issue to the next level”.

Mr Khan said: “Unfortunately, attention from Kashmir was drifted for over a month due to a dharna [sit-in in Islamabad] at a time when Kashmir issue was at its peak… But you need not to worry because Kashmir still remains at the centre of world attention.”

He said 600 EU parliamentarians had passed a resolution on Kashmir. Around 150 US Congressmen and British MPs had also raised Kashmir issue in their respective legislatures. “Kashmir issue is making inroads not only in the international media but also in political arena and we will do comprehensive planning to apprise the world of how India has been unleashing terror in the occupied territory,” he said.

Mr Khan also praised overseas Pakistanis and Kashmiris for raising awareness on the issue.

He said he firmly believed the Aug 5 move by Narendra Modi would drive [occupied] Kashmir to freedom. “India had been committing atrocities on Kashmiris even before Aug 5, but the world community was unconcerned. On Aug 5 India made a fatal mistake from which it cannot step back,” he said.

The PM said the world was seeing for itself and realising what was happening in India and occupied Kashmir.

Mr Khan said being a student of history he knew how the genie of nationalism and racism would create hatred against minority communities and [thus] horrifying destruction. Citing the examples of Germany, Rwanda, Myanmar and of the city of Karachi, Mr Khan said thousands of people had fallen victim to ethnic riots. “The ideology of hatred begets hatred and bloodshed. India will face it soon,” he observed.

The prime minister took strong exception to Mr Modi’s statement that India could conquer Pakistan within 11 days and said it was aimed at pleasing his Hindutva base. “Such a statement is unbecoming of a leader, particularly when both countries are nuclear-armed… The one who issues such a statement cannot be a normal person,” Mr Khan said, quoting a famous quotation that the last refuge of every scoundrel was patriotism.

Similarly, he said, the Indian army chief’s statement also reflected their nervousness.

He warned the world against India’s trap, explaining that they would either use “cross-border terrorism” as an excuse or conduct a false-flag operation like that of Pulwama to inflict more torture on the people of occupied Kashmir.

“They would have proceeded to do so had we not raised the issue before the world. They have stated that they wish to change the region’s demography, from a Muslim-majority to a Muslim-minority. We should not give them any chance. This is a political, and a diplomatic fight as well as in the media. And for the first time since the 70s, international media is inclined towards Pakistan’s stance,” he added.

In a veiled reminder of his advice against attempts to cross the Line of Control, the PM said: “We should not go there. They (Indians) can do anything like a bomb blast and then use the term Islamic terrorism, something that makes the West turn its back on us.”

Earlier, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin of the Pakistan Peoples Party, PTI regional president Barrister Sultan Mahmood, Abdul Rashid Turabi of Jamaat-i-Islami, Sardar Hassan Ibrahim of Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party, Malick Mohammad Nawaz of Muslim Conference also spoke and thanked the people and the government of Pakistan for expressing solidarity with the Kashmiris. They also called for an aggressive diplomacy on Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2020