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Friday, 5 February 2021.

PRESIDENT HOUSE, Islamabad, Pakistan.

EVENT | Pakistan Stands with Kashmiris | President of Pakistan | Institute of Strategic

Studies Islamabad-ISSI | National Security Division-NSD.
Statement by AHMED QURAISHI |executive director, YFK-International Kashmir Lobby
Group.

1. THE HONORABLE MR. PRESIDENT, THE HONORABLE FOREIGN MINISTER,

THE HONORABLE NSA, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, AND ESPECIALLY THE
TEAM AT ISSI, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN YOU
TODAY.

2. THE REMARKS THAT I DELIVER HERE ARE IN MY CAPACITY AS A

JOURNALIST FOCUSED ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND NATIONAL SECURITY,
AS PART OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT UNDERTAKES RESEARCH AND
LOBBYING IN THESE AREAS.

3. THE PEOPLE OF KASHMIR, AND PAKISTAN, ARE NOT INDIA’S ENEMIES.

4. WE CAN LIVE PEACEFULLY IN THIS REGION. COEXIST. AND PROSPER.

5. IT IS INDIA’S CHOICE – AND NOT A COMPULSION – TO PROLONG A

POLITICAL DISPUTE AND TURN IT INTO AN ENDLESS RELIGIOUS AND
CULTURAL WAR. AND NOW, A HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY.

6. THIS IS A CHOICE THAT INDIA’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP EMBRACED,

ACROSS THE AISLE, AND FORCED THE CITIZENS OF INDIA, CITIZENS OF
PAKISTAN, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF JAMMU & KASHMIR ON A
PATH OF CONFLICT.

7. INDIA FAILED TO SHOW THE MAGNANIMITY THAT A LARGE COUNTRY

CAN AFFORD.

8. DESPITE THIS, PAKISTAN AND KASHMIRIS REMAINED MAGNANIMOUS

FOR THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY OF THIS CONFLICT, CONDUCTING
TRADE AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE IN THE HOPE THAT WARM CONTACT
WOULD SOFTEN HEARTS AND SPUR A COMPROMISE.

9. BUT TOO MUCH HAS HAPPENED FOR ANYONE TO SUGGEST THAT

PAKISTAN AND KASHMIRIS CAN SIMPLY FORGET WHAT HAPPENED AND
MOVE ON. WE NEED A PEACEFUL CLOSURE. WE NEED PEACE.
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10. YOU NEED CLOSURE WHEN THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS

EXTENSIVELY REPORT ON THOUSANDS OF UNMARKED MASS GRAVES,
AND DOZENS OF DOCUMENTED CASES OF GANG RAPES BY SOLDIERS.

11. TODAY, KASHMIR IS THE WORST EXAMPLE OF MILITARY OCCUPATION,

UNIQUE AND UNPARALLELED IN ITS DEPRAVITY. CANNOT BE COMPARED
TO ANY OTHER EXAMPLE.

12. THERE IS A POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND IN

THE GLOBAL NARRATIVE ON KASHMIR. THE K-WORD IS NO LONGER A
TABOO WORD.

13. THIS POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE DISCOURSE PAVES THE WAY FOR A
POSSIBLE SIMILAR BREAKTHROUGH IN DIPLOMACY ON KASHMIR.

14. KASHMIRIS HAVE BEEN WRONGED FOR 74 YEARS. THEY DESERVE

ANSWERS.

15. WE WISH INDIA WELL. WE SEEK PEACE. AND PEACE IS POSSIBLE

THROUGH JUSTICE, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND THE RIGHT TO SELF
DETERMINATION IN KASHMIR.

I THANK YOU.

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