National Assembly Secretariat host a lecture on the Kashmir dispute

Lahore : Under the direction of the Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, an enlightening lecture on the Kashmir dispute was held in National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday. The Member of the National Assembly from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and former head of Strategic Studies Department of Quaid-e-Azam University, Dr. Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari delivered a comprehensive talk on various dimensions of the Kashmir conflict.

Ms. Shireen Mazari highlighted that Kashmir is not a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan but an international dispute ever since India brought it to the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) in 1948 under Chapter VI. Relying on the text of the UN Resolutions, she elaborated the legal status of Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir and added that Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir is well rooted in international law and UNSC resolutions affirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. Ms. Mazari highlighted that Pakistan strictly adheres to UN Resolutions on Kashmir and urged the international community to take notice of Indian atrocities and handedness in Kashmir.

Dr. Shireen Mazari remarked that India continues to flout UN Resolutions, violate human rights with impunity and suppress people’s right to self-determination, does not deserve a permanent seat at UNSC. Responding a question that Pakistan has been globally isolated as evident from the recent boycott of SAARC Summit by India, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, she remarked that such boycotts is not tantamount to Pakistan regional and global isolation.

Proposing viable solutions to the intractable Kashmir conflict, Ms. Mazari drew parallels between East Timor, Aland Island, Trieste, the Andorra models and the Kashmir issue. However, she suggested that the most viable model for resolution of Kashmir issue, in her opinion, is the Good Friday Agreement, which resolved the Northern Ireland conflict. She also underlined the need for a coherent Policy on Kashmir.

The lecture was 1^st part of a series of lectures by the expert members of Parliament on specialized subjects. Regardless of party affiliations, the Speaker National Assembly has launched an initiative of special lectures to transform the National Assembly Secretariat into a well informed and learning organization. The lecture on Kashmir conflict was attended by Members of the National Assembly and Officers of the Secretariat.