Durable peace elusive sans resolution of Kashmir dispute: Ahsan Iqbal

New York: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that durable peace between Pakistan and India would continue to be elusive unless the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir was resolved in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Addressing a press conference here at the United Nations, the minister expressed grave concern over the plight of the people under foreign occupation in Jammu and Kashmir, who have been suffering brutal oppression, extrajudicial killings, human rights violations, extended curfews, lockdowns, arbitrary detention, and illegal demographic displacement.

He said after the illegal and unilateral measures August 5, 2019 to snatch Jammu and Kashmir’s identity, the Indian authorities have been mounting massive campaign of repression against its people.

He said, the measures was an attempt to change demography of the Muslim majority state to transform it into a Hindu majority territory by eliminating indigenous Muslim population and settling down Hindus from across India in the area.

This move created barriers to a just resolution of the Kashmir dispute, he said, adding that if the tension created by India’s cruel policies in occupied Kashmir were left unattended, it could lead to another conflict in the region with potentially catastrophic consequences.

He also stressed the international community for evolving an emergency action plan and mobilizing financial resources to ramp up food production, keep supply chains open, assist poor farmers and build food bank for the developing countries.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives said that in order to overcome poverty and hunger, there was a need to address the complex structure and systemic issues impeding food production by developing countries.

Being the President of G-77 countries, the minister added that Pakistan had proposed to the UN to lead an international effort to provide support to the developing countries to mitigate the effects of the supply chain shocks.