Berlin: Sardar Masood Khan, the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while addressing a seminar at the German Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, has said that durable peace in South Asia will not be possible unless Kashmir dispute was resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of Kashmir people he AJK President said that peace in South Asia requires engagement but India was blocking all channels for dialogue and communication on Kashmir. “India wants to take Kashmir and Kashmiris out of the Kashmir disputeâ€, he said and asked “Is that not the biggest diplomatic oxymoron of our times?â€
President Masood Khan said that to make the quest for peace in South Asia meaningful, India should end human rights violations in Kashmir, deescalate its frequent and hostile fire across the Line of Control, free political prisoners, and restore basic liberties and fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people.
Most importantly, he emphasized, the Indian Occupation Forces should stop their operations in the IOK that were meant to terrorize and subjugate people.
Paying tribute to Germany for emerging as a “bastion of stability†in Europe and a global leader, President Khan urged German Members of European Parliament to raise the issue on the floor of the Parliament and call on the UN Security Council to take urgent steps to implement its resolutions on Kashmir. As citizens, he said, Germans should work for the primacy of protection of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir.
President Masood Khan told the audience, comprising students, academics, and representatives of civil society, who attended the seminar at the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy, that Kashmiris were waging a peaceful, indigenous struggle.
“There was no terrorism in Kashmir. Kashmiris were unarmed and unaided militarily. Their only weapons are their aspirations and their words for freedomâ€, President Masood Khan said. The AJK President appealed to the European countries not to “appease†India for the sake of economic benefits and misguided strategic considerations.
“Policies of appeasement last century led to two world wars and disastrous consequences. That mistake should not be repeated in regard to Kashmirâ€, he said. He concluded his remarks with the words: “We have faith in Germany; have faith in Kashmiris; and help them realise their right to self-determinationâ€.
