MIRPUR, Feb 13 (APP): President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, while reminding the British government of its moral obligations vis-à-vis the resolution of the longstanding Kashmir dispute, said that the issue, rooted in the flawed partition of British India, continued to pose a threat to the region’s peace and stability.
While addressing British parliamentarians in the House of Commons in London on Thursday, the president said that the Kashmir issue arose after Britain left the subcontinent, said a message received here to the media.
He termed the Kashmir dispute as a constant threat to the region’s peace and security, adding that the long-pending dispute hangs on despite the lapse of 77 years.
He said that the international community should realize the fact that peace in South Asia was inescapably linked to the settlement of the unresolved Kashmir issue.
“The international community should bear in mind that the key to establishing peace in South Asia lies in resolving the Kashmir issue,” the president remarked.
Stressing the need for an inclusive dialogue to settle the lingering dispute peacefully, he said that there was a dire need to associate Kashmiri leadership with the dialogue process. The Kashmiris, he said, were the main stakeholders and a basic party to the dispute.
Barrister Chaudhry, however, maintained that bloodshed in occupied Kashmir and dialogue cannot go together.
He said that the international community must exert its pressure on the Indian government to stop the bloodbath of innocent Kashmiris and adopt confidence-building measures to create a congenial environment for talks.
The members of the British Parliament and House of Commons including Imran Hussain, Debbie Abrahams, Neil Duncan Jordan, Jon Trickett, Tahir Ali, Grahame Morris, Matt Turmain, John McDonnel, Harpreet Uppal of Lords Lord Qurban Hussain, Ian Lavery MP, Jas Atwal MP, Muhammad Iqbal, Andrew Pakes, Ayub Khan, Baroness Pola Uddin, Baroness Nosheena Shaheen Mobarik, Baroness Shaista Gohir, Gill Furness Furniss, Paula Barker, Kate Dearden, Sally Jameson, Manuela Perteghella, Anna Dixon, Will Forster MP and others were present on the occasion.
On this occasion, the members of the British Parliament assured the AJK President of their continued support for Kashmiris’ legitimate political struggle. They also assured of raising their voice in support of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination within and outside the Parliament.
They appreciated President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry for his selfless services to the Kashmiris’ just cause and his significant contribution in highlighting the plight of Kashmiri people at international level.