KARACHI, June 10: The visiting All-Parties Hurriyet Conference delegation has demanded an end to human rights violations in the Indian-occupied Kashmir and asked both India and Pakistan to set a timeframe for their dialogue for resolving the Kashmir issue.

Reiterating their support to the ongoing peace process between the two countries, the delegation stressed that Kashmiris must be inducted in the process at the earliest for the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir.

Members of the delegation were speaking at a reception hosted by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad on Friday, and at a dinner hosted in their honour by Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim on Thursday night.

While speaking at the governor’s reception, Chairman of the APHC Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said: “Over the past 57 years, Kashmiris have rendered sacrifices and we have come to the conclusion that a timeframe must be stipulated to resolve the issue.”

Other APHC leaders Professor Abdul Ghani Bhutt, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Yaseen Malik and Bilal Lone were also present on the occasion, besides Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim, provincial ministers, corps commander Karachi Lt-Gen Syed Athar Ali and Director General of Sindh Rangers Maj-Gen Javed Zia.

The Mirwaiz said that despite the unilateral ceasefire observed by Pakistan along the LoC, the occupation forces in the held territory had killed 140 Kashmiris during the past one-and-a-half month.

Although he welcomed the peace process and confidence-building measures announced by India and Pakistan, he said that these CBMs could not contribute anything positive unless they addressed the miseries of Kashmiris.

He stressed that the talks should not be for the sake of talks, but they must produce result. “The most important CBM will be step towards a political solution to the Kashmir dispute, which will ensure lasting peace in the subcontinent,” he said. He said the APHC had asked President General Pervez Musharraf to talk to Indian government very clearly on the issue of human rights violations in the held Valley.

He urged the Indian government to take some sincere steps in order to prove its seriousness in the ongoing peace process.

The Mirwaiz, recalling the sacrifices offered by Kashmiris for their cause, declared that Kashmir was neither a territorial nor a regional issue, but it pertained to the rights and aspirations of 15 million people.

“We always stood for a solution through dialogue, but they should be substantial and must make the Kashmiris feel that their problems were being resolved.”

He said the APHC fully supported the ongoing peace process and believed that unless the two countries came closer to each other, they would not be able to resolve the dispute. However, he added, if India’s aim was to buy time, the talks would be useless.

Declaring the APHC’s support to the approach of President Musharraf and the political leadership of Pakistan on a solution to the Kashmir dispute, the Mirwaiz said that he and his colleagues had been assured by the Pakistani leadership that no solution without the consent of Kashmiri leadership would be accepted.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad said that time had come when aggression should be replaced by flexibility. He observed that courage, sincerity and determination were required to resolve any longstanding dispute, and President Musharraf possessed all these qualities.

He said the Pakistan government had always stood on its principled stand that the core dispute had to be resolved as per the aspiration of Kashmiri people. “We cannot separate the core issue of Kashmir from the CBMs,” he added.

DINNER: Earlier on Thursday night, the APHC leaders expressed their views at a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim at the Chief Minister’s House, agencies add.

Chairman of the APHC Mirwaiz Omar Farooq observed that at international level, a resonance was being heard for the resolution of Kashmir dispute and there was optimism in Pakistan and India that the ongoing peace process might lead to a solution and the people of Kashmir would be able to decide their future.

He said until the Kashmir dispute was resolved, neither a sustainable peace could be established, nor true development in South Asia would be possible.

All efforts of peace – including the initiatives taken at Simla, Agra and Lahore — had failed because Kashmiris had not been taken into confidence, he contended.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim said: “Kashmir is a reality and right to self-determination is the dream of Kashmiris. Their great sacrifices have provided real support to this dream.”