KL Report
Srinagar
Ruling out the possibility of a military solution to the Kashmir issue, Pakistan has said that all the physical battles and mind wars’ fought on Kashmir by the two neighboring countries have failed and it was time to seek a peaceful settlement to the problem.
“Pakistan and India have fought wars, played mind games and used every other tactics on Kashmir, but everything has failed”, Pakistan Foreign Minster Hina Rabbani Khar said while talking to the editor-in-chief of a local news agency KNS, who was recently in Pakistan to report the visit of Hurriyat(M) delegation to Islamabad. She said that the only option available with the two countries was to engage in a dialogue process.
“During my press conference here in the same room with Foreign Minister Krishna, I issued a statement which was prepared by the Indian bureaucrat, mentioning that the process should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible”, said Hina. She however advocated for the inclusion of the Kashmiris in the process.“There are three parties to the dispute, Pakistan, India and Kashmir, and the true representatives of the Kashmir should be included in the dialogue process”, said the Pak Foreign Minster.
Hina Rabbani said that the Kashmir settlement was the key to peace in south Asian Region, and they were exploring every possible option to open channels of dialogue with New Delhi for the permanent settlement of the issue. She however insisted that the leadership of the Kashmir should get united to see a breakthrough in the process. “We would like to see the separatist leadership getting united”, Khar said.
The Pak Foreign Minster termed Hurriyat conference (G) Chairman Syed Ali Geelani as an important stakeholder in the process and said that Geelani was an ‘honorable’ and ‘influential’ leader in the ongoing movement and his importance can’t be overlooked.
“Geelani is a very honorable leader and represents a large chunk of population and sentiment. He couldn’t come because of his ailing health, but we are inviting him again and we would love to have consultations with him”, Khar added.
Commenting on the situation in Pakistan and the future prospects after US Forces pull out of Afghanistan next year,HinaRabbani said, “ Peace in Afganistan is vital for the entire South Asia and Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation.” (KNS)
