President, PM reaffirm support for Kashmir

Expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir on the occasion of Kashmir Day on February 5, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Monday said Pakistan remained firmly committed to finding a just and peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute.
In his message, the president reiterated with the Kashmiri brethren Pakistan’s political, moral and diplomatic support towards their just cause for the right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Charter and the relevant UN resolutions.
Zardari also paid tribute to the valiant struggle of the people of Kashmir, saying they had been rendering huge sacrifices in the quest for realising their inalienable right to choose their destiny by themselves.
He said the Kashmiris had remained resolute and steadfast in the face of oppression spanning over six decades. “Today, we stand in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.”
“Pakistan believes that the use of force, coercion and violation of basic human rights can never succeed in suppressing an indigenous struggle for a just cause. Their perseverance will bear fruit.” PM Ashraf said Pakistan would stand by Kashmiris until the realisation of their demands for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute. “On behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan, I reaffirm Pakistan’s firm commitment to a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the protection of their fundamental rights,” the prime minister said in his message on Kashmir Solidarity Day. The prime minister said the Kashmir dispute had been on the agenda of the United Nations for more than six decades as an unfulfilled obligation.
He said the government of Pakistan would continue to extend its unwavering political, moral and diplomatic support to the just cause of the Kashmiri people to safeguard their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite in line with UN Charter and UNSC resolutions. He said Pakistan had always supported dialogue with the government of India.
“We have initiated CBMs in good faith and hope that the CBMs would mitigate the suffering of the Kashmiri people. We also hope that the CBMs would lead to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he said. “We give the people of Kashmir our solemn pledge that they can count on us in their hour of anguish.”