Pakistan calls for US intervention in Kashmir

Pakistan has asked the international community, particularly the US, to intervene in Kashmir in resolving the contentious issue which is central to peace in the region.

"The occupation cannot continue. The rights of the Kashmiri people cannot continue to be denied," Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said yesterday.

"We call upon the United States particularly, which is pressing so responsibly for peace in the Middle East, to also invest its political capital in trying to help seek an accommodation for Kashmir," he said while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think-tank.

Qureshi asserted that resolving Kashmir was central to peace in the region, and likened it with finding a solution to the Palestinian conflict as a fundamental step for peace in the Middle East.

"It has always baffled me that the international community has long recognised that the Palestinian question is the core issue to peace in the Middle East, but does not seem to understand that, similarly, until the status of Jammu and Kashmir is resolved, real peace in South Asia will remain elusive," the minister said.

"We are convinced that sustainable peace can only offer the best guarantee for ensuring a bright and prosperous future for the over one billion people inhabiting the region," he added.

Qureshi, who is here to attend the General Assembly and seek more aid for flood-victims, said the present turmoil in Kashmir is homegrown and was not coming from outside.

"Today, the Kashmiri youth, children and women have once again highlighted the occupation and suppressive policies of occupation in Indian held Kashmir," he said.

"Surely the world can recognise that this resistance is internal and visceral. It may be easy for some to dismiss the uprisings as outside agitation, but no one any longer can seriously believe this," he added.

"The international community must recognise that the people of Kashmir in an entirely indigenous upsurge are demanding their right to self determination," Qureshi continued, noting that the "the UN has long recognised this and now it is the time for the international community to do something about it."

Qureshi further said that resolving the Kashmir issue would also help combat anti-terror activities in the region. "It would be critical for the containment of terrorism, which is fueled and thrives on blatant examples of social and political injustice."

Underling that Pakistan was "committed to peace in South Asia", Qureshi said that resuming a dialogue process with India "remains a major objective" for Islamabad.

"My discussions with the Indian minister for external affairs in July were useful," he said. "We look forward to a constructive and result oriented action with India on all issues, especially the issue of Jammu & Kashmir."