Speakers At Washington Seminar Urge World Community To Resolve Kashmir Dispute To Usher In Peace

Speakers at an engaging seminar held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington reaffirmed their unwavering support to the oppressed people of Indian-Occupied Kashmir, and urged the international community to push for a settlement of the decades-old dispute

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2025) Speakers at an engaging seminar held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington reaffirmed their unwavering support to the oppressed people of Indian-Occupied Kashmir, and urged the international community to push for a settlement of the decades-old dispute.

Entitled 'Longstanding, Unresolved, and Unfinished Agenda: Important Aspects of the Kashmir Issue,' the participants highlighted key legal, political and security dimensions of Kashmir dispute, drawing the international community's attention to its ramifications.

They also underscored India's persistent refusal to honour its commitments, the unfulfilled promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by the global community, and the implications of India's unilateral action in 2019, which further destabilized the region.

The two-session event drew a diverse audience, including members of civil society, Pakistani-Americans (particularly from Azad Jammu and Kashmir), media representatives, and students from various universities across Washington, D.C.

A distinguished panel of speakers contributed to the discussion, including international law experts Ali Unar, Arif Hyder Ali, and Mowahid Hussain Shah; Dr. Zulfiqar Kazmi, Founder of The Common Grounds USA; Ambassador Touqir Hussain, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University; and Lars Rise, Former Norwegian MP. Ch Muhammad Yasin, President PPP AJK also addressed the participants.

Special messages from Pakistan's President and the Prime Minister as well as the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister were read out on the occasion, followed by a documentary showcasing the struggle of the people of Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In his remarks, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh emphasized that diplomacy was the best way to resolving global issues, including the Kashmir dispute.

“The durable settlement of the Kashmir issue and a hope for lasting peace can be best accomplished through diplomacy,”

Ambassador Sheikh stated. “We need to create a situation where India and Pakistan can have a dialogue which is meaningful and consequential. That’s the only way forward.”

Highlighting the similarities of the conflicts in Kashmir and Palestine, Ambassador Sheikh urged the international community to refocus its attention and play a proactive role in resolving these long-standing conflicts.

“The situation in Palestine and Kashmir affords us this opportunity to accord them a similar status. And if they are both taken together owing to a common genesis, each will reinforce or strengthen the other issue.

"The steps taken by Indian government on and after August 5, 2019, are not legally tenable,” the ambassador said.

In this context, the Ambassador highlighted relevance of UN Resolution 122, adopted on January 24, 1957, that reaffirmed the international nature of the Kashmir dispute and unambiguously pronounced that any unilateral action by either of the two parties to the dispute would not be a substitute to the prescribed solution of a UN-supervised plebiscite.

Ali Unar - Alumnus of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) said that owing to trust deficit between Pakistan and India, multilateral solution involving important countries, private sector and global business community should be involved, highlighting the economic benefit of peaceful Kashmir.

Arif Hyder Ali suggested making a claim before the conciliation commission, under the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD. He also proposed that a claim could be made based on violations of the apartheid convention. He also identified significant challenges to the rule of law at the international level.

Mawahid Hussain Shah, an Attorney at Law, said that ideas and resistance can never be crushed and the spirit of freedom and the quest for legitimate right to self-determination will live on through Yasin Malik and Shabbir Shah as well the brilliant articulation of the Kashmiri struggle by the late Syed Ali Geelani.

Former Ambassador Tauqir Hussain stressed that Kashmiris needed to make unilateral actions of 2019 untenable for India so that it is compelled to revert to negotiating table. He emphasized that India and Pakistan will have to find a way to settle the dispute through mutual understanding.

Lars Rise, Former Norwegian MP, said that India was committing war crimes in occupied territory. He stressed that violations of human rights should be documented and this should be made part of foreign policy advocacy in the major world capitals.

Ch Muhammad Yasin highlighted the efforts being made to draw attention of the international community toward the Kashmir dispute.

APP/ift