National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): Pro-freedom leaders and organizations in
occupied Kashmir have criticized the British Foreign Secretary, Phillip Hammond, for his remarks that Kashmir should not be a pre-condition for dialogue between Pakistan and India.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, in a
statement issued in Srinagar termed Phillip Hammond’s assertion as irrational and unreasonable, KMS reported.
He said that the Kashmir dispute was the basic and real issue between
Pakistan and India. “Ignoring the issue has neither helped in the past and nor can we expect anything concrete in future,” he said.
The APHC Chairman said that the British government had played a key
role in the creation of the Kashmir dispute and the fresh statement of its foreign secretary also reflected that they wanted to keep this issue burning so that India and Pakistan would always remain entangled with each other.
He appealed to the prime ministers of Pakistan and India to show
political maturity and foresight and resolve the long-pending dispute, which is the main hurdle in the way of peace, development, and prosperity of the people living in both the countries.
The Secretary General of APHC, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in his statement in
Srinagar said, Hammond’s remarks either show his lack of knowledge on the issue or he has deliberately made such comments to sideline a well-established fact.
“What stops this country to contribute to the resolution of Kashmir
issue when it played a role in East Timor and South Sudan? How come Phillip Hammond prioritizes the `onion-potato trade’ over the future of 15 million people of Jammu and Kashmir? Reality is that the west has adopted a biased approach vis-…- vis Kashmir issue, which is backed by 18 UN resolutions,” he said.
Shabbir Shah asked Hammond to revisit the history of Jammu and
Kashmir. “It is an established fact that the relation between India and Pakistan will never improve until the Kashmir issue is resolved,” he added.