India has much to hide, peace elusive till Kashmir issue resolved, says Pak

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday said the dream of peace and prosperity in the region would remain elusive without resolving the Kashmir issue and reaffirmed its support for the people in the Valley in their struggle for the right to "self-determination".

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made these remarks in their separate messages on Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The president said, "Pakistan reiterates its unwavering political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Occupied Kashmir in their struggle for self-determination right in accordance with UN resolutions."

Prime Minister Abbasi in the official message also expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

He said even after the passage of more than seven decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to be "deprived of the fundamental right to self-determination in stark contradiction to the promise made to them by the international community through the United Nations Security Council Resolutions".

The prime minister said India refused to allow the visit of the team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the OIC to Kashmir, thus denying the international community an opportunity to evaluate the situation on the ground.

"India obviously has much to hide," he claimed.

The two leaders said that the dream of peace and prosperity in the region will remain elusive without resolving the Kashmir dispute.

Pakistan called upon the international community to urge India to "respect the Human Rights Charter, put an immediate end to the gross human rights violations of Kashmiris...and ensure expedited resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the UNSC Resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people."

Meanwhile, Pakistan declared official holiday and the government as well as various groups announced to organise rallies and seminars to highlight the issue of Kashmir.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal in a tweet said that Kashmir should become a part of Pakistan.