India, Pak can’t move ahead without resolving Kashmir: Geelani
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani today asserted that any dialogue process between India and Pakistan would prove futile until the Kashmir issue is resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of its people. He said all issues between the two countries are the offshoots of Kashmir dispute.
Commenting on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement on dialogue with India without pre-conditions, Geelani said in a statement: “The basic issue between India and Pakistan is the unresolved Kashmir dispute and until this issue is addressed as core issue and solved according to the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, the dialogues between these two neighboring countries will prove a futile exercise like in the past.”“The basic issue between India and Pakistan is the Kashmir dispute and all the other issues between them are its offshoots. Kashmir is not any border dispute between the two nations but it is the issue of the future, life and death of more than 15 million human beings,” Geelani said, adding, “The rigid and stubborn approach of India is the only hurdle in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.”
Appealing to the rulers of Pakistan, particularly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to maintain consistency in their Kashmir policy, Geelani said, “There is no justification with India to hold Jammu & Kashmir under its forced occupation. If Pakistan maintains consistency in its Kashmir policy, India will definitely face difficulties in front of international community and it will not be in a position to defend its forced military occupation in Kashmir.”
