J&K cornerstone of our foreign policy: Pak PM

Pakistan PM said it wanted ‘genuine’ representatives of the Kashmiri people to be involved in the dialogue.

Terming the Kashmir issue as the ‘cornerstone’ of his party’s foreign policy, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said it wanted ‘genuine’ representatives of the Kashmiri people to be involved in the dialogue process for a ‘just’ and ‘durable’ solution.

Sustainable peace in South Asia cannot be achieved without resolving the Kashmir dispute which has “bedevilled relations between Pakistan and India” over the past six decades, Gilani told Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik during a meeting in his chamber at Parliament House .

“Pakistan would continue to extend full and unwavering moral, diplomatic and political support to the cause of Kashmir as Pakistan wants an expeditious, just and peaceful resolution of the dispute in keeping with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” Gilani was quoted as saying in an official statement.

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Malik, the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, is currently visiting Pakistan in connection with an exhibition and has met several political leaders.

Gilani said Pakistan “believes in the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue” and expressed confidence that India would reciprocate positively in this regard.

The Kashmir issue was the “cornerstone” of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party’s foreign policy, Gilani said. He recalled that PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s foreign policy too revolved around the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

“Pakistan has always supported the inclusion of all stakeholders in the dialogue process and Pakistan believes that true and genuine representatives of the Kashmiri people in the dialogue will ensure a just and durable settlement which would be acceptable to the people of Pakistan,” Gilani said.

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