Islamabad: Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has made it clear that the issue of Kashmir is actually an issue of national independence, right of sovereignty and, resumption of oneness and national identity of the State of Jammu Kashmir (JK) while uniting its divided parts comprising upon 84,471 sq/m with over 22 million population. This was stated by Khawaja Saifudin, the head of JKLF central convening committee, from AJK capital city Muzaffarabad while commenting on the latest situation.
In a categorical statement issued from the party’s central information office Khawaja Saifudin said that the K issue is not a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan that can be resolved through a bilateral dialogue process between them only. Being the issue concerning the future of a nation, he said that its resolution is possible only with the exercise of unfettered right of self-determination or through a tripartite dialogue between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri representatives for them being the principal party to the issue. The past 74 years of history bears witness to the fact that in the absence of the principle party, the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan yielded no results, he added.
While representing the freedom movement and the struggling people of the State, the JKLF acting chief made it clear that any solution, including the division of the State, contrary to the freedom and the exercise of right of self-determination reached upon by India and Pakistan bilaterally shall not be acceptable to JKLF. The unprecedented sacrifices rendered by the people of the State during the decade’s long freedom struggle demand that their right to freedom and sovereignty need to be accepted by India and Pakistan in particular and the international community in general, he added. He said that the continued Indian State terrorism nor the 5th August, 2019 Indian aggression could deter the will of the people for the freedom of JK. Terming the proposed plan of annexation of Gilgit Baltistan with Pakistan as incomprehensible and against the people’s expectations, he warned that this plan shall not only put dent on the disputed nature of the State but would also form the bases for the permanent division of JK which is unacceptable to its populace. While suggesting the two countries for not to tread upon such a path that may lead to the State’s division and may tarnish its national identity, Khawaja Saifudin appealed to the international community to come to the rescue of a nation that is being taken to the brink of extinction. In order to achieve the liberation of our motherland and to safeguard the national identity of the State, he expressed the JKLF’s resolve to continue its struggle by all peaceful means at every level that would ultimately lead to the peaceful, permanent, democratic, immediate and just solution of the Kashmir issue.
In the meantime, in a diplomatic effort, a letter of appreciation with genuine concerns drafted by the JKLF diplomatic bureau chief Professor Raja Zafar Khan was delivered to the UAE foreign minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zaid Bin Sultan Al-Nihan for UAE’s role in bringing the two arch rivals, India and Pakistan, closer to each other to normalize their relationship. According to the party spokesman, the letter was drafted in view of some national and international media reports highlighting the role played by UAE for hosting secret back channel talks between the top national security representatives of the two countries in UAE that led to declaration of ceasefire on ceasefire line (Line of Control — LOC). Terming the UAE role as a welcome sign, the JKLF diplomatic bureau chief in the said letter extended fullest of possible support for any dialogue process that would ultimately lead to the early resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the State.
Referring to about 20 UNSC resolutions on Kashmir, the people of the State were so deprived of the right to decide about their future status enshrined in these resolutions, the letter mentioned. While accepting the people’s right to freedom and sovereignty, the letter also emphasized for the early exercise of unfettered right of self-determination by the State subjects, the spokesman added. With political, historical and moral background of the Kashmir issue, the letter also suggested immediate cessation of gross human rights violations and the release of all pro-freedom political prisoners including the chairman of JKLF Muhammad Yasin Malik as a confidence building measure followed by a serious and result oriented tri-partite dialogue between the representatives of India, Pakistan and Kashmir.