Pakistan's PM pledges support for Kashmir
Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris in their struggle for independence from Indian rule, but is striving for peace in their divided Himalayan region, Pakistan’s prime minister said today.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence on August 14, 1947, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz demanded that the Kashmir dispute be resolved according to the wishes of the people of the region.
“The people of Kashmir are an important party to this issue. Their wishes and aspirations cannot be ignored,” Aziz said at ceremony in the capital Islamabad.
“On this occasion, I want to assure Kashmiri elders, brothers and sisters that Pakistan will continue its political, diplomatic and moral support to them until they achieve their right,” he said in a speech broadcast live by state-run television.
Pakistan and India separately control parts of Kashmir, but each of them claims the whole of the region. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Islamic militants began fighting Indian security forces in 1989 to wrest the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from New Delhi or force a merger with mainly Muslim Pakistan.
The insurgency has killed about 68,000 people, mostly civilians, in Jammu-Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority state.
New Delhi accuses Pakistan of the backing the militants, but Islamabad denies the charge.
Aziz said Pakistan initiated peace talks with India with “sincerity of intention” to resolve Kashmir and other disputes in the region.
In January 2004, Pakistani and Indian leaders began a series of peace talks which led to the restoration of diplomatic and transportation links, and eased travel restrictions across their heavily militarised border. But they have not achieved any major breakthrough on Kashmir.
