AJK president insulted Kashmiris: MC

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Yaqoob Khan insulted the people of Kashmir when he favoured the decision of granting India the status of Most Favoured Nation, Muslim Conference spokesman said on Saturday.
“He is selling the blood of thousands of Kashmiri martyrs and opposes MFN to India in Kashmir but favours it outside Kashmir,” he said upon the AJK president’s arrival in Karachi.
The spokesman said former AJK prime minister Sardar Atiq had advised Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to improve relations with India after much deliberation and in accordance with the neighbouring country’s reaction.
However, he said the government’s policies did not reflect the stance of the people, hence were causing panic.
He said granting the MFN status to India meant “we have gifted the Pakistani economy to India. Any trade relation with India should be associated with a permanent solution to Kashmir”.
He said Kashmiris had not been taken on board while granting the MFN status to India.
“The Muslim Conference has never objected to dialogue or trade with India, however, Kashmir, Kishanganga Dam, Wullar Barrage, Sir Creek and other issues demand more importance than trade ties,” he added.
The spokesman said Sardar Atiq had clarified that India also wanted to solve the issues urgently “so why is the PPP government bent upon promoting trade with India without solving more urgent issues”. The Muslim Conference spokesman said India had placed non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to restrict Pakistani products in India even though it had granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.