23.10.10

Pak seeks US mediation on Kashmir

In a significant statement ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to India, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has sought the US’ mediation for resolving the Kashmir dispute. Speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington, Mr Qureshi said US mediation was essential for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. “Pakistan is deeply interested in a peaceful and stable South Asia,” he said. Expectedly, Mr Qureshi cited the recent unrest in Jammu and Kashmir to seek the US’ intervention. “Any person of conscience cannot ignore the use of brute force against defenceless Kashmiri youth. That prospect is endangered by the recent events in Kashmir. It is in the interest of lasting peace, stability and development of the region that the US works for the resolution of disputes in South Asia. This has to begin with justice for the Kashmiri people,” he said. His comments came hours after the third round of the Strategic Dialogue between the US and Pakistan began. Contending that Pakistan was “deeply interested” in a peaceful and stable South Asia, Mr Qureshi claimed that the prospect, however, was in “danger again by the recent events in Kashmir.” Unfazed by revelations about Pakistan’s involvement in fomenting trouble, Mr Qureshi said “their mothers (of Kashmiri youth) are rightly bewildered at the deafening silence of the international community. Wisdom proposes that the aspirations of any people can't be suppressed by the use of force, such would be with the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people.”

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