AJK President asks Modi to respond positively to Trump's mediation offer

ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Saturday urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond positively to the mediation offer made by US President Donald Trump on the Kashmir issue during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United States.

Addressing a press conference here along with a parliamentary delegation from United Kingdom (UK), Sardar Masood said the Indian prime minister should show flexibility and seriously consider Trump offer to resolve the long-standing dispute between the two neighbouring countries.

The AJK president expressed his gratitude to the European Union (EU) for discussing the last year’s report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the EU’s Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights in February this year and recommending its implementation.

He also hailed the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for releasing the follow-up report on the terrible human rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir despite the Modi administration’s pressure.

The follow-up report once again condemned the atrocities being committed by the Indian forces in Kashmir valley and suppression of the pro-freedom voices of innocent people, which led to their causalities, he added.

He said it was the first time in the history of US that the Kashmir issue was echoed in the White House and a US president had expressed his desire to play an arbitrary role openly for resolving the decades-old issue.

Former US presidents Bill Clinton and Obama had also raised the Kashmir issue at different forums, he added.

Sardar Masood said Trump’s offer had proved that the Kashmir issue was an issue of international nature instead of a bilateral dispute.

He urged the Indian government to welcome the offer of Donald Trump as the solution of Kashmir issue was only possible through diplomatic and political means.