Minister seeks students’ role in highlighting Kashmir issue

LAHORE:Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan as most of the water reserves in Pakistan depend on the rivers coming out of Indian-Occupied Kashmir which flow into Punjab. Water is a common problem for both the countries because of their dependence on agriculture. For this, we must come back to negotiations like in 1960 but today's conditions have changed a lot and the 1960s formula cannot be sufficient to meet today's needs.

These views were expressed by Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari while addressing the ‘Kashmir issue and future water disputes’ held in connection with 2nd all Pakistan summit by students society at Government College University Lahore on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering, the minister said that the Kashmir issue has many aspects, one of which is the water dispute. The water crisis is a global problem. In order to reduce the severity of this problem around the world, laws are being set up for the effective use of existing water reserves and control of water pollution. Unfortunately, there is no law for water conservation in Pakistan and our consumers are unaware of its importance. There is no formula for the allocation of water used for agricultural purposes, nor is domestic water use monitored, the minister said. He said that the students can play an important role in highlighting the importance of the Kashmir issue and the need for its solution, including the careful use of water among people. In the current era, the role of social media is important for the smoothing of public opinion, but for the smoothing of public opinion, research and study are also necessary to understand the real nature of the problems, he said.

Shamshad Ahmed Khan highlighted the role and responsibilities of the Foreign Office and said that it is important to look at the Kashmir issue separately from the water dispute. Solving the problem is not possible without an independent foreign policy. He said that at the time of partition, India and England believed that Pakistan would not be able to survive in its independent status for more than two months and would eventually become a part of India, so they were biased in transferring resources to Pakistan. And though Pakistan and India were two separate bodies, their hearts and minds were united. Only two issues have been discussed in the Security Council for 75 years, one is Palestine and the other is Kashmir. World powers used Muslims against communism and enemies of Islam to exterminate Muslims, he said.

He said that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is independent foreign policy. As long as Pakistan's foreign policy does not protect Pakistan's interests, the problem of Kashmir will remain a problem.