Fighting for Kashmir liberation is Pakistan's duty: Zardari

Published: January 06, 2010
MUZAFFARABAD (Agencies) – The settlement of Kashmir dispute is vital for regional peace, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday.
President Zardari said regional peace was inextricably linked to the settlement of the decades-old dispute over Kashmir. “As world attention is on Pakistan, then together with Pakistan, the world has to talk about the Kashmir problem as well because only then can peace be brought to the region,” Zardari said.

President Zardari was addressing a joint session of AJK Assembly and Kashmir Council in the Assembly Hall marking the ‘self-determination day’, celebrated across the world, to renew pledge to continue the liberation struggle till its logical end.

“We cannot delink regional peace from peace in Kashmir ... we have highlighted this thinking in the world and will keep projecting it.”
Zardari said Pakistan and India should learn to live in peace. “We know that we cannot change our neighbours but they should also know that they can also not change their neighbours.”

Zardari described Kashmir as the ‘jugular vein’ of Pakistan and said “Soon the time will come when the world will take important decisions regarding Kashmir. We have never objected to friendship between India and the United States, but we know that we cannot change our neighbours, nor can they.” He expressed the hope that the people of Kashmir will succeed.

The President said the happenings in Kashmir today were known all over the world as international media today beams through satellites every issue, whether it is a strike or any other event and it can’t be hidden anymore, he added. The President also endorsed the pledge made by the people of Kashmir of waging a thousand-year war and said, “This is a war of ideology that will continue for coming generations.” The President said that democratic governments played a key role in moving forward on the Kashmir dispute.

“Whenever dictators took over they speak of appeasement. We, from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto to me and the prime minister have talked with India on equal terms.” When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had spoken of waging a thousand year war, he never said that he would not do it through talks or negotiations, he added. Zardari said “It is a sign of weakness of a developed democratic India that they can make a nation yield through force.” He said their elders used to think that Kashmiri nation was weak.