Youm-e-Takbir: Nuclear tests by Pakistan restored strategic balance in the region: AJK president

ISLAMABAD: President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has said that the nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan on May 28, 1998, restored the strategic balance in the region and made Pakistan’s defence impregnable.

In a special message on the occasion of Youm-e-Takbir, he commended the exceptional role played by the then prime minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in initiating nuclear programme. Barrister Chaudhry also highlighted Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s significant role in the development and advancement of Pakistan’s missile technology.

These initiatives had made Pakistan’s defence invincible, the AJK president said, adding no enemy can even dare to cast an evil eye on the country.

While emphasising on an early and amicable settlement of the Kashmir dispute, Barrister Chaudhry said: “Kashmir, a nuclear flashpoint between India and Pakistan, has a potential to trigger a nuclear war between the two countries”. Any incident, regardless of its size, can potentially escalate into a larger conflict between India and Pakistan that can potentially jeopardise peace of the whole world, he said, adding: “The key to peace in South Asia lies in a just and honourable settlement of the Kashmir issue”.

The AJK president said it was high time that the international community should play its due role in resolving the long-standing Kashmir issue in line with the UNSC resolutions.Terming Kashmiris the main stakeholders, he stressed the need for associating Kashmiri leadership in dialogue process to find out a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue.