Five days after India and Pakistan agreed to address the trust deficit between them through dialogue, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said his country would continue to extend moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination.
The Minister was quoted by the Associated Press of Pakistan as saying this in the National Assembly while briefing the House of the government's Kashmir policy.
He said Pakistan would continue its efforts for a durable and peaceful solution to the issue, which he billed as the cornerstone of his country's foreign policy. No solution would last unless it involved the Kashmiri people.
Reiterating Pakistan's stated position on Kashmir, he said: “We want a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in the light of the United Nations resolutions, and according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.” Any dialogue between India and Pakistan would be incomplete without the association of the Kashmiri people.
The government, he said, was in constant touch with the Kashmiri leadership on both sides. “The Mirwaiz visited Pakistan in June 2008 and I recently wrote to the Kashmiri leadership in occupied Kashmir, inviting them to visit Pakistan and hold consultations.” The ground reality must be taken into account while resolving this festering issue.
The Kashmir matter was raised with India several times during the tenure of the Pakistan People's Party regime. Before the composite dialogue was suspended by India after the Mumbai terror attacks, the issue was raised by Pakistan. It also featured in the fifth round of the composite dialogue, and both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to continue the discussions to find a lasting solution, he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Singh had to face severe criticism at home for agreeing to discuss all issues, including Kashmir, after Pakistan “successfully presented'' its case at Sharm el-Sheikh.
Mr. Qureshi also sought to underline the maturity shown by the two countries in not suspending confidence-building measures such as ceasefire along the Line of Control and an uninterrupted bus service, despite the stand-off following the Mumbai attacks.
