Jeddah : May 3.2024 :Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan the former Prime Minister of Azad Kashir has said the Kashmir dispute was primarily the issue of self-determination which is a basic principle of the United Nations Charter. The applicability of the principle of self-determination to the specific case of Jammu and Kashmir which has been explicitly recognized not only by the United Nations , but also by both India and Pakistan when the dispute was laid before the Security Council in 1948. He was addressing Kashmiri and Pakistani community after attending Muslim world league organization meeting he was guest of honor of the event while Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai Secretary General , world Kashmir Awareness forum was the chief guest of the event the event was presided over by Sardar Waqas Inayeat President , Jammu Kashmir Overseas Community, Jeddah .
Speaking in event Attique added that Kashmir issue involves the life and future of the 23 million people of the State of Jammu & Kashmir that existed on August 13, 1947. Because of its impact on relations between India and Pakistan, however, it directly affects the peace and stability of the South-Asian subcontinent. The denial of this right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir has brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear catastrophe.
Sardar Attique explained that all international conflicts ultimately were resolved on the negotiating table. If that is true, then the world powers should become deeply engaged in order to make sure that the peace process between India and Pakistan once initiated does not get derailed. “His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman can also play a bridge building to bring parties together so that the animosity is done away with, and the dawn of dialogue and engagement is sustained,” Sardar Attique highlighted.
Chief guest Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said that Kashmir conflict is not about Modi’s so-called development or jobs or even money; it’s about freedom and respect for the sovereign right of a people to choose their own way of life, their own leaders, and their own politics without interference from outsiders. The people of Jammu & Kashmir, irrespective of their religious background and cultural affiliations, were given the right by the United Nations to decide the future status of Kashmir. That is a principle that was agreed by both India and Pakistan and endorsed by the world community. Perhaps India may pretend that it can preempt that option unilaterally, but the people of Kashmir have not forgotten it at all.
Fai warned that cost of inaction by the international community is enormous – for the global community, for the region of South Asia and especially for the people of Kashmir. If the global initiative is taken, it will not only end the bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir, but also will have a direct positive effect on international security by eliminating regional fighting and risk of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. It is in everyone’s interests to settle the Kashmir dispute peacefully without further delay.
Mr. Farooq Rehmani, former Convener, All Parties Hurriyat Conference said that the repression of Kashmir’s soul has not diminished the pain or the need for India to meet those face to face who have had nothing but a boot to the belly and a cane to the back. The voice of Kashmir not only remains as vibrant and shrill as in the very beginning, it is yet even stronger. It is time that India showed some honesty and forthrightness in its dealings with Kashmir.
Consul General, Khalid Majeed Sahib said that our brothers and sisters in Occupied Kashmir have suffered for over seven decades. They look towards us to raise their voice against the oppression at the international forums. It is our moral, legal and religious duty to come forward and be the voice of the people who feel muzzled by the draconian laws which have given total immunity to over 900,000 Indian occupation forces in Kashmir. The whole nation of Pakistan is standing with the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir and will keep exposing the atrocities and brutalities of PM Narender Modi at all international forums.
Mr. Masud Ahmed Puri, Chairman, Kashmir Committee Sardar Waqas Inayat ,Sardar Muhammad Ashfaq Arif Mughal, Choudhary Khurshid Ahmed , JKCO; Raja Shamroz also spoken in the event .
