ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Azad Kashmir Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, speaking at an Iftar dinner in Islamabad, emphasised that lasting peace in South Asia depends on resolving the Kashmir issue and reaffirmed support for the Kashmir freedom movement.
The Speaker of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, Chaudhry Latif Akbar, has stated that sustainable peace in South Asia cannot be guaranteed without resolving the Kashmir issue. He emphasised that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was founded on the Kashmir cause, recalling that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had once declared the resolve to fight for Kashmir for a thousand years.
Speaking at an Iftar dinner held in honour of Hurriyat leaders, anchorpersons, and senior journalists, the AJK Speaker stressed the need to make Azad Kashmir a true base camp for the Kashmir freedom movement. The existing political and administrative system in AJK persists mainly because Kashmiris continue their fight for independence.
Since his speech, Chaudhry Latif Akbar acknowledged Kashmiri martyrs who gave their lives for independence. The solution to the Kashmir dispute needs to be just to make this region truly peaceful.
The event was attended by several prominent figures, including Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Mehmood Sagar, Syed Yousuf Naseem, Mir Tahir Masood, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob, Abdul Majeed Malik, Altaf Bhatt, Tanveer-ul-Islam, Hassan Al-Banna, and Shamim Shal. Other distinguished guests included former Deputy Speakers Mehr-un-Nisa and Shaheen Dar, as well as Abdul Hameed Lone, Raja Khadim Hussain, Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal, Mushtaq Bhatt, Syed Ejaz Shah, and former adviser Sardar Amjad Yousaf. The President of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Afzal Butt, was also present.
The Speaker’s speech demonstrated how vital the Kashmir issue remains for Pakistan’s political discourse. The speaker demanded enduring international advocacy for Kashmiris alongside staunch Pakistani backing for their right to choose their destiny.
The Iftar gathering enabled participants to discuss the Kashmir movement as well as media influence and obstacles for sustaining the movement in changing regional circumstances.
