People take part in a rally to mark ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ in front of the parliament in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
Islamabad: Pakistan observed Kashmir Solidarity Day on Friday by holding public rallies, with Prime Minister Imran Khan saying he will be the ambassador of Kashmir at every forum.
Khan’s remarks came during a public address in Kotli city in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (PcK) to mark Kashmir Day.
“However much I can, I am raising my voice on your behalf at every forum, and will continue to do so. Whether it is with the United Nations, world leaders, or European Union leaders. I asked the past president of the US (Donald Trump) three times as well to resolve this issue, Khan said.
“Rest assured, I said I will be the ambassador of Kashmir, and I will raise my voice for you everywhere until Kashmir gets freedom,” he was quoted as saying by Geo News.
India has told Pakistan that it has no locus standi to comment on internal affairs of India, asserting that the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been and will remain an integral part of the country.
On Thursday, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said that India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
“The onus is on Pakistan to create such an environment,” he said.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote letters to the president and secretary general of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Kashmir, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Friday.
The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India launched an airstrike on Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 following the deadly Pulwama militant attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed.
The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
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