Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated on Wednesday that Islamabad seeks to settle all outstanding issues with India, including Kashmir, through dialogue.
Speaking at a special session of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad on “Kashmir Solidarity Day,” Sharif urged India to honor its commitments to the United Nations and engage in discussions.
Kashmir Solidarity Day is an annual observance in Pakistan meant to express support for the Kashmiri people. “We want all issues, including Kashmir, to be resolved through talks,” Sharif said.
The Pakistani leader further remarked, “India should come out of the thinking of August 5, 2019, and fulfil promises made to the UN and launch a dialogue.” His statement referred to India’s revocation of Article 370, which had granted Jammu and Kashmir special status before the region was reorganized into two Union Territories.
‘Peace is the Way to Progress’
Sharif cited the Lahore Declaration of 1999, an agreement signed by then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit to Pakistan, as evidence that dialogue was the only viable path forward for the two nations.
India has consistently maintained that it seeks normal neighborly relations with Pakistan but insists that such relations must be built in an environment free of terrorism, hostility, and violence.
New Delhi has also made it clear to Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh, “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of India. Relations between the two countries worsened following the revocation of Article 370.
Sharif also criticized India for accumulating weapons, arguing that stockpiling arms would not bring peace or alter the lives of Kashmiris. He urged New Delhi to adopt a wiser approach, stating that peace was essential for progress.
“Pakistan will continue to offer its unwavering moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmiri people till the realization of their right to self-determination,” he said. He further asserted, “The only solution to the Kashmir issue is the right of self-determination under the UNSC resolution.”
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif also called on the international community to pressure India into allowing Kashmiris “to freely determine their future for lasting peace in the region.”
Additionally, PoK’s “prime minister” Anwarul Haq reaffirmed that Pakistan was the ultimate destination for Kashmiris, adding that true peace could not be achieved without resolving the Kashmir issue.
At the event, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, the service chiefs, and the Pakistan armed forces reiterated their support for the Kashmiri people.