Kashmir issue can’t be resolved through military:Imran Khan

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Tuesday said that Kashmir could not be resolved through military nor militancy and dialogue was the only solution to the conflict zone between Pakistan, India and Kashmiris.

Talking to media persons along with the leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other members of the delegation, Imran Khan called for demilitarising the South Asia region and turning the bilateral talks into trilateral dialogue, stating that the Kashmiris should also be included into Pakistan-India talks which were as important stakeholders as Pakistan or India. He vowed that dream of peace and prosperity in the region could only be materialised when Kashmir issue is settled according to aspirationsof the Kashmiri people.

“There is no military or militancy solution to Kashmir problem and the only possible solution is dialogue,” he said, adding that due to the incompetent leadership in India and Pakistan in the past, the issue was yet to be resolved which had threatened regional peace and prosperity. “Due to the weak leadership in India and Pakistan in the past, the issue became complex. However, after coming into power, the PTI would resolve the issue through peaceful dialogue,” he maintained. Imran Khan said that Kashmir problem needed to be solved through dialogue and the dialogue should not be two-sided and rather Kashmiri leadership should also be included in talks as they were the actual party to the conflict.

It is in the interest of the both Pakistan and India to have peace in the region, he asserted. The PTI chief said that Pakistan strategically was located at very important position; hence, it would be in the interest of the whole region that Pakistan and India coexist peacefully. He said that the on-going human right violation should be ended once and for all. He said that the dream of prosperity of the region cannot come true until the resolution of the decades-old Kashmir dispute, adding that peace in the region was in the interest of Pakistan, India and Kashmiris.

He said that settlement of Kashmir dispute should be the top agenda of the both India and Pakistan governments, adding that people of both the country were struggling to make both ends meet so it was in the interest of the both the countries to remain peacefully rather to live in war like situation. He said that in past, no serious effort was made for resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He said that if he comes to power, Kashmir would be the top agenda of his government.

Mirwaiz said that Kashimiris should be given representation in the bilateral parleys held for the resolution of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, as the problem cannot be resolved until Kashmiris are included in the dialogue process. He said that Pakistan and India cannot live with peace and harmony sans resolution of Kashmir problem. He said that Kashmir is not a territorial dispute rather it was a humanitarian issue, adding that Kashmiris are not against establishing relations between Pakistan and India, but it should not be at the cost of Kashmiri people.

The Hurriyat Leader further said that Kahsmir’s struggle was peaceful. He urged that Kashmiris of both sides of the divides should be allowed to have frequent interactions. “We are being subsided through force, but Kahsmiris could not be pressed through use of brutal force. Although Kashmiris don’t have weapons, but we have the courage and will to fight for our right to self-determination”. He said that dialogue should not be bilateral rather it should be trilateral, as without Kashmiris’ representation, the problem cannot be solved.