Kashmir emerged as nuclear flash-point: AJK President

The president appealed to the UK to come forward as an important member of the UN Security Council

MIRPUR (Dunya News) – Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan Friday said that nuclear clash between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue was not merely an apprehension but a visible reality.

“If the international community does not come forward to resolve the Kashmir issue and end human rights violations, not only South Asia but the entire world will have to pay a heavy cast,” he said.

In a first-ever interactive session with the UK MP and Chairman Labor Friends of Kashmir Andrew Gwynne through video link, he said that the human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the frequent Indian aggression at the Line of Control were further aggravating the already deteriorated situation of the region which would have adverse effects on the peace and security of the whole world.

Sardar Masood Khan warned that the war hysteria created by extremist Indian rulers and the oppression in IIOJK was swiftly pushing the region towards a devastating war, said a press release issued here by AJK President office.

The president appealed to the UK to come forward as an important member of the UN Security Council, and pave the way for a peaceful political and diplomatic solution to the Kashmir conflict- a root cause of tension between India and Pakistan.

“The UN Security Council owes the responsibility of maintaining peace and security in the world, it can intervene despite India’s opposition, and take any measure including holding of a referendum to resolve the Kashmir conflict,” he added.

Welcoming the launching of Labor Friends of Kashmir and the Conservative Friends of Kashmir after establishing an All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group in the UK Parliament, the president expressed gratitude for the MPs supporting legitimate right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people, and an opening up a new window for creating awareness in the UK and Europe about the Kashmir conflict.

He maintained that the responsibility of the Security Council to resolve the Kashmir issue further grows because the presence of UN Military Observers deployed in both parts of the Jammu and Kashmir.

Sardar Masood Khan said India has been creating hurdles in the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN resolutions. Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir want a peaceful political and the diplomatic solution to the issue but India is adamant to resolve it through military means that is a war between the two countries.

Rejecting the bilateral talks with India, Masood said that the question of Kashmir and the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir revolves around the people of Kashmir who are fundamental party to the Kashmir as only they will decide their political future through an UN-sponsored referendum.

Drawing a comparison between AJK and IIOJK, the president said that the Occupied territory had virtually become a big military garrison and open prison for its inhabitants while the people of AJK enjoying freedom, civil liberties and all fundamental rights and they are struggling for a prosperous life.

Earlier, addressing a separate webinar chaired by the Tehrike Kashmir UK Chief Fahim Kayani, Sardar Masood Khan appealed to the international community to take notice of the worst human rights violations in IIOJK. He said that in order to stop India from committing genocide in IIOJK; it has become inevitable to raise the issue of Kashmir in every forum of the world.

Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK President, Fahim Kayani, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, British MP Afzal Khan, MP Steve Baker, former Member European Parliament Phil Bunion, Muhammad Yasin and other speakers addressed the event.

The speakers called for an immediate halt of human rights violations in IIOJK and pointed out that rights abuses there are a matter of concern and the international community must speak out collectively against it.

They said that two senior UN officials have written letters to the Indian government on human rights violations which is a welcome step but now merely drawing attention to the Indian government would not work and India cannot be compelled to end rights violations in IIOJK until the world community takes some decisive action.