Islamabad:Former Information Secretary of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Vice Chairman of Tehreek-e-Shabab-ul-Muslimeen Jammu and Kashmir Mushtaq Ahmed Butt has welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s stance on the Kashmir issue during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Butt said the prime minister had forcefully presented the Kashmir issue before the international community and reiterated Pakistan’s political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
He said Kashmiris had been awaiting a free and impartial plebiscite for decades and described the raising of the issue at the UN as a continuation of Pakistan’s longstanding diplomatic position.
According to Butt, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also highlighted concerns over the human rights situation, political arrests, restrictions on civil liberties and demographic changes in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the Kashmir dispute should not be viewed merely as a territorial issue between Pakistan and India, arguing that the political aspirations, rights and future of the Kashmiri people remained central to any resolution.
Butt said lasting peace and stability in South Asia required serious efforts to resolve longstanding disputes through dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful political processes rather than confrontation.
He expressed hope that Pakistan would further strengthen its diplomatic efforts on Kashmir and that the international community would contribute to a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
He added that Kashmir was closely linked to the political future, fundamental rights and human dignity of millions of people, and called for a credible political process that takes the aspirations of the Kashmiri people into account.