ISLAMABAD: Stressing that granting due rights to the people of Kashmir is the only way to maintain peace and stability in the region, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged New Delhi to resolve the long-standing dispute through dialogue as Youm-e-Istehsal-e- Kashmir is being observed today.
In his televised address to the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister said that the day is not far when both India and Israel will have to give due rights to the people of Palestine and India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). because all other ways lead to total destruction.
He said that Pakistan is a nuclear power and this is part of its defence. However, he said that Pakistan had never considered aggression when it came to its nuclear power.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the occasion reminded us of the grave consequences of India’s illegal action on 5 August 2019 towards the IIOJK, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government revoked the semi-autonomous status of the disputed valley.
Prime Minister Shehbaz promised that until Kashmiris get basic rights and freedom, Pakistan will continue to extend moral support and will continue to knock on the doors of all international institutions.
Paying tribute to the people of Kashmir, he said, “We pay tribute to their freedom struggle, who endured the atrocities and atrocities of the Indian armed forces for 77 years.”
He also paid tribute to Hurriyat leaders including Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, Sardar Ibrahim Khan, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yousuf, Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Moulana Abbas Ansari and all the young workers and leaders who raised their voice against Indian atrocities.
“We salute Asiya Andrabi, Yaseen Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Mussarat Alam Butt and Burhan Wani for their freedom struggle.
Regarding the situation in Palestine, the prime minister said that more than 40,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, had been martyred so far. Unarmed Palestinians were still being tortured every day, he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has broken records of barbarity in Palestine through his army, he said, adding that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was recently martyred in Tehran.
In Pakistan, he said, a day of mourning was observed and funeral prayers in absentia were held across the country.
He also condemned the arrest of the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque who spoke about Haniyeh’s martyrdom.
