Pakistan will never barter away Kashmiris rights, stresses Qureshi

NEW YORK: Pakistan will negotiate to find a solution to the decades-old Kashmir dispute, but will not barter away the inalienable rights of Kashmiri people, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a gathering of Pakistani-Americans.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was deeply committed to the just cause of Kashmiris and that his stand on the issue was unequivocal. “We will talk respectfully, but will not make a deal [on Kashmir],” the foreign minister told a cheering audience on Friday.

He was answering a question about concerns being voiced over reported back-channel engagement with India on the decades-old dispute. He also said that Pakistan was open to dialogue with India aimed at peacefully resolving all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

Past regimes in Pakistan, Qureshi said, had put the Kashmir issue on the back-burner, but the present government had revived it, citing PM Imran Khan’s forceful address to the UN General Assembly in 2019.

Friday’s meeting with community members was held at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan were among those present.

Pakistani Consul General in New York, Ayesha Ali, welcomed the foreign minister, noting that he is the first dignitary from Pakistan to visit New York since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world early in 2020.

On their part, the community members praised Pakistan’s strong advocacy of the Palestinian cause, the way it stood by the beleaguered people and highlighted their plight as they suffered under the 11-day Israeli bombardment that left nearly 250 people dead, including women and children.

Qureshi, who led the Pakistan delegation to May 19’s session of UN General Assembly on Palestine, said his purpose and that of other foreign ministers from Islamic countries, who had come to New York, was mainly to raise voice in the 193-member body in an effort to seek an end to the atrocities being committed against the Palestinians.

“By the grace of God,” he said, “We succeeded in our first objective — a ceasefire.”

Replying to another question, Qureshi said there were deep similarities in Palestine and Kashmir issues — the people in both the entities were struggling for their right to self-determination; both suffered atrocities from their occupiers and both were resisting demographic changes and “ethnic cleansing in their respective territories”.

Lauding the important role of diaspora, the foreign minister said Prime Minister Khan considered overseas Pakistanis as great assets who continue to uphold Pakistan’s interests in the international arena, and boosting its economy with ever-increasing remittances. He also praised overseas Pakistanis for helping to strengthen Pakistan-US ties, and said efficient service delivery would be provided for them. Qureshi said the government was actively working to legislate electoral reforms that would allow overseas Pakistanis to vote in national elections. “We want to give Pakistanis abroad the right to participate in elections in Pakistan,” he added, as applause rang out.