ISLAMABAD: On the eve of Youm-e-Istehsal, the federal cabinet on Tuesday approved a new political map of Pakistan, which includes the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and other disputed areas.
In a press conference along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other ministers after the cabinet meeting here, Prime Minister Imran Khan said “We are bringing a political map of Pakistan before the world which reflects the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.”
The prime minister said that the political map supports the principled stand of the people of Pakistan and Kashmir and rejects the aggressive and illegal step taken by India in Kashmir on August 05. The prime minister added that from now onwards, the official map of Pakistan would be the same as the one approved by the federal cabinet and it will be presented inthe United Nations. “From now on, this map of Pakistan will be used in schools, colleges and globally,” he said.
Speaking on the long-standing Kashmir issue, he said, “Let me make clear again that there is only one solution to Kashmir, that solution is in the UN Security Council resolutions, which give the people of Kashmir the right to decide by vote that they want to go with Pakistan or India.”
Imran Khan emphasised that this right was given to Kashmiris by the international community, which had not been realised yet and “we want to make it clear to the world that this is the only solution, other than the solution that India did on August 05. It will never be resolved that way.”
The prime minister contended, “There is only one solution to Kashmir that we and our government will continue to strive for, and that is what the world promised in 1948 under UN resolutions. I congratulate everyone. We have been listening to Kashmir since we were born and people are hoping that they will get justice and rights and when Kashmir will come to Pakistan.”
About the political map, he said, “This is a map. I want to say from my life experience that before reaching one's destination, one has to imagine where he is going. This map is the first step and we are in a political struggle.”
He maintained, “We believe in a political solution, not a military one. We will repeatedly remind the United Nations that you had a promise that you did not fulfil. God willing, our struggle will continue. This struggle will continue forever and as long as I am alive. All Pakistanis should also struggle, just as the people of Kashmir are sacrificing for their freedom.”
The prime minister said, “I believe in my God that we will reach this destination one day.” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Kashmir issue can only be resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions promised by India.
"The map states that there will be a UN-sponsored referendum on the future of Kashmir. The second thing that this map has made clear is the further clarification of Pakistan's position. The map used to have a line and the impression was given that there is ambiguity in what Jammu and Kashmir is,” he pointed out.
“Today we have made it clear that there is an international border and there is a clear distinction that this area is unresolved. Another red line has been drawn in this map which is a military demarcation and it used to end earlier, but now it has been merged with the border with China,” he explained.
He emphasised that it had been made clear that Siachen was ours yesterday and was ours today. “We are challenging India's position and its illegal actions. We are claiming our right in this area. The issue of Sir Creek has been under discussion in our bilateral talks,” he maintained.
Explaining the map, the minister said, “we have refuted India's claim in Sir Creek in this map and we have said that this is Pakistan's position. Our border is to the east while India's position is that it goes to the west. It was seemingly trivial, but if you look at the effects, India has cleverly tried to devour Pakistan's hundreds of kilometers.”
The foreign minister said, “Earlier, it was called Fata and now that it has been integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it has also been shown as KP and the thirst has been quenched. The Afghan border is clearly visible, the blurred border is also shown here, these are areas like the one that just happened between China and India, their conflict has been going on for decades and there had been also Pakistan's stance.”
The minister contended that Kashmiri and Pakistan's entire political leadership endorsed the map and added, “We cannot even try to create any ambiguity on what we have shown in the map and the Pakistani nation agrees on this political map.”
Qureshi said the map is a reflection of our destiny. “The prime minister and the cabinet approved the attribution of the Kashmir Highway to the Srinagar Highway and our destination is Srinagar, our destination is the dream that our elders saw and this dream was fulfilled by Imran Khan in this map,” Qureshi remarked.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's political parties, from treasury and opposition benches, formed consensus over the Kashmir issue, Geo News reported Tuesday. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressing the All Parties Conference, said that Pakistani nation, political parties, and the armed forces were on the same page regarding Kashmir.
"Despite torture, oppression, and imprisonment, India cannot dampen the spirits of Kashmiris," Qureshi said, adding that the country had rejected India's unconstitutional and unilateral move on August 05, 2019.
Chairman Senate, Speaker of National Assembly, DG ISI and representatives from JUI-F, JI, ANP, PPP, PML-N, BNP, and others were present at the meeting held at the Foreign Office.
Meanwhile, speaking in Geo News' programme "Geo Pakistan", Qureshi said that the entire country was united on the issue of Occupied Kashmir and will give 'one message' to India on the one-year anniversary of New Delhi's August 05 move.
"There is no confusion in our emotions or direction," said the foreign minister. "The entire country is united (on Kashmir issue) and will send one message to India (on August 5)," he added.
Answering a question about Pakistan's response and what more needed to be done, the minister said that the struggle to provide the right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir was an ongoing one.
"See, this is a struggle and it will have its ups and downs," he said. "Our stance hasn't changed and our destination is Srinagar. The locks and chains on the Jamia Masjid Srinagar will be broken," he added.
Qureshi said that political activists, stakeholders and other members of the society will take part in Yaum-e-Istehsal rallies around the country. "We will observe one-minute silence, of course, keeping in mind the SOPs due to the coronavirus pandemic," he said.
The minister lashed out at the Indian government for imposing a curfew in the occupied region, saying that it had negated India's stance. "India's stance has been buried (by its decision to impose curfew again)," he said. "It shows that the Indian rulers aren't confident that Kashmiris will agree with them, despite the government's oppression and greed tactics," he added.
