World urged to recognise Kashmir as international dispute

ISLAMABAD: The participants of a Kashmir seminar here on the Independence Day impressed upon the world opinion to attach due attention to the Kashmir dispute as an international dispute that has the potential to become a nuclear flashpoint. The world should compel India to find a solution of the dispute and show restraint in perpetuating oppression against people of Kashmir.
The views were expressed in a discussion hosted by the Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK) in a local hotel. The title of the discussion was: “Kashmir: The unfinished agenda of Pakistan’s Independence.” The Pak-Kashmir youth also celebrated Pakistan’s Independence Day on the occasion. Shaista Safi, activist belonging to the Baramulla (Indian-Occupied Kashmir) opened the talk with the TV anchor Ahmed Quraishi and followed by a Q&A session conducted by YFK lobbyist Ms. Mariah Atiq.
Ahmed Quraishi said that the people of Kashmir expressed their resolve to join Pakistan through a resolution that was passed in Srinagar on 19 July 1947. The resolution was passed in the presence of Kashmiri leaders, and it came a month before the actual declaration of Pakistan’s creation. He urged the Indian government, its army and the occupation administration of the occupied Kashmir to exercise restraint in the valley. “We ask India to allow young Kashmiris to publicly express their feelings in Kashmir for Pakistan and especially on its Independence Day. This right should be unhindered and should not lead to harassment or intimidation of any kind,” Quraishi said.
YFK is Pakistan’s first pro-Kashmir, registered and nonpartisan international lobbying group led by young Kashmiris and Pakistanis working to ensure justice to Kashmiris living under the Indian-military occupation and subjugation.